THE LIVING DEAD

By Unsealed 4X4 7 Min Read

We take a look at nine ‘old’ 4x4s that you can still buy new, somewhere. 

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Zombie (noun)1. A corpse said to be revived by witchcraft, especially in certain African and Caribbean religions. 2. A person who is or appears lifeless, apathetic, or completely unresponsive to their surroundings. 

Maruti Gypsy

Over in India, a company called Maruti Suzuki still makes the SJ40 Sierra for their domestic market. It’s available as a hard- or soft-top, weighs 985kg and is powered by a 60kW, 1300cc 13BB motor. The list of features include a driver’s side rear view mirror, hazard warning light, and adjustable head restraints. Like Australia’s Sierra, the Gypsy is loved and modified by subcontinental offroaders and respected for its light weight, capability and rugged simplicity. Awesome.

Morattab Pazhan

Although Santana went belly-up in 2011, the Land Rover Series lives on in the form of the Morattab Pazhan, made today in Iran for the domestic market. This Landy-licensed gem is powered by a Hyundai three litre V6 petrol and a selectable 2X4/4X4 system that works through a Hyundai five-speed gearbox. Leaf springs are replaced by coils; three-link in the front and a four-link in the rear.

Lada Niva

Beginning production in 1977, the Niva has been described by its designers as a “Renault 5 put on a Land Rover chassis.” It’s still in production today, assembled from Colombia to Kazakhstan, and sold into markets around the globe. It’s a five-speed, full-time 4X4 with a locking centre differential, and a 1.6 litre petrol four that makes 61kW and 129Nm. You can even get it in different body styles – king cab, single cab, trayback and utility.

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M715s – Kia KM450

The Kia KM450, still actively used and produced by South Korea’s army, is based (very) largely upon the Kaiser Jeep M715 (which itself is based upon the 1962 Jeep Gladiator). The 3.8 litre, six-cylinder Tornado petrol motor has been replaced by a 130hp diesel with a five-speed gearbox and locking rear diff, but other changes have been minimal.

Mahindra Thar

If the Mahindra Thar isn’t a direct copy of the CJ7 Jeep, I’ll eat my hat. Where the CJ7 hit the market in 1976, the Thar debuted in India in 2010. It sports an 182Nm, 47kW, 2.5 litre diesel, and runs on live-axle leaf springs all ’round. It’s a popular choice for off-roaders – there’s even a two-day annual Mahindra Thar off-road competition. The softer touches amongst us can option one with aircon and a locking fuel cap.

Chinese HMMWV

The Hummer H1 is still with us, thanks to a handful of manufacturers in China. Many use the exact same chassis, engine and driveline specs as the original Yankee; some even have parts sourced from Uncle Sam. The Chinese Hummers get cool names, though, like Xiaolong (Fierce Dragon), LieYing (Falcon), Mengshi (Brave Soldier) and Hanma (Hummer).

1HZ–powered LandCruiser
Not a fan of fancy modern engines? Here’s a tip: get yourself over to Nicauragua or the Democratic People’s Republic of Congo. Toyota LandCruisers there still roll off the showroom floor with the 4.2 litre 1HZ diesel six-pot. Sure, it’s slow and agricultural, but that’s the price you pay for full, unadulterated mechanical glory.

Short Wheel Base 70 Series

Remember the Toyota Bundera? You’ll see these much maligned LandCruisers still getting around every now and then today, hiding under a thick camoflague of Mack or Cat mudflaps and booze/debauchery related stickers. If you’re a few sandwiches short of a picnic and think this is still a good idea, jump on the next plane to Bogota. Toyota still sell the SWB LandCruiser (71 Series) brand new in Colombia.

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UAZ 452

Nicknamed the Loaf, the Pill and the Tadpole, the UAZ 452 has been in production in Mother Russia since 1966, and is still going today. It’s been sporting ABS brakes, power steering, seat belts and a Euro-4 compliant motor as standard since 2011, but otherwise remains largely unchanged. The motor is a 2.7 litre petrol unit of 82kW, and it has a five-speed gearbox and low-range transfer case.
I don’t know why, I love it.

Toyota Banderiante
We sadly didn’t get to write this before the curtain finally fell on the Banderiante, but it still deserves mention. Essentially, Toyota was still making 40 Series LandCruisers for the Brazilian domestic market as late as 2001. They used a few different Mercedez-Benz sourced diesel motors for the most part of production, but went back to a Toyota 14B motor (plus a five-speed gearbox) for the last few years of production.

Nissan Jonga

Nissan’s tough-as-guts old G60 dodged retirement by finding a gig with the Indian army. Its production life ran from the mid ’60s all the way to 1999, being built by military contractor Vehicle Factory Jabalpur (VFJ). In 1996, the four litre petrol motor was replaced with a four litre diesel, sourced from Ashok Leyland. There was a push to build a civilian market for the Jonga, but it never took off.

Metalúrgica de Santa Ana, SA

The Series Land Rover didn’t fall into oblivion when the Ninety and One Ten succeeded the throne; Spanish manufacturers Santana Motors kept the dream alive by continually adding to and improving upon the 1958 design. The final iteration was greatly improved in fact – it had a gutsy three litre turbo diesel motor of 135kW and 350Nm, along with a 100 litre fuel tank and a six-speed gearbox, albeit with tapered leaf springs. The Series got another rejuvenation as the Iveco Massif, which was produced between 2007 and 2011 by Santana.

Words: Sam Purcell


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