Private collection: the best 4x4s by far
Jacques “Nekkies” Smit has been collecting unique Land Rovers for two decades. We visit him at his business just outside Wellington for a closer look
It could have been the perfect lounge or dining hall but instead, Nekkies Smit decided to fill it with a host of collectable Land Rovers and Range Rovers. Walking through the display area at the Wellington branch of his business, Gateway Offroad Centre, it is clear Nekkies’ passion for all things Land Rover has be‐ come more than that. It has blossomed into a viable business where he services, maintains, restores and customises Land Rovers, old and new.
As is so often the case, Nekkies’ interest in Land Rovers started at a young age. “I grew up in a farming community and we were used to seeing all sorts of 4x4s.
In 2000, I bought my first Defender, a Series II. It was in a terrible state because I couldn’t afford a better example at the time. I restored it and the bug bit. I’ve since restored several Land Rovers. In 2004, I opted not to go into farming and joined a business that specialised in repairing and maintaining Land Rovers and Range Rovers.”
His collection spans decades and all are reversed neatly into place. One of the Land Rovers that immediately drew my attention was a yellow 1996 Camel Trophy Discovery. “A friend phoned and said he would run into marital problems if he bought another Land Rover and knew I would appreciate this Landy. The previous owner had insisted that the car must go to a good home. You don’t often get a chance to purchase a 4x4 like this, so I took it. It was Team UK’S car for the Camel Trophy and, when I joined the Camel Trophy Club in the UK, they revealed they didn’t know the whereabouts of the car.” Nekkies decided against restoring it as the vehicle had so much history and patina.
The oldest car on display in his collection is a 1956 Series I, complete with foldable windscreen and remov‐ able rooftop. It has received a significant amount of res‐ toration work but Nekkies admits the aim was merely to tidy up the car. “I found a 1950 Series I that is quite excep‐
tional. I’m busy restoring it; when that is finished, I’ll decide whether to keep both or to sell the ’56 model. When you find one of these classics, you need to keep it ori‐ ginal as that’s what collectors are interested in.”
The colours of the vehicles are as intriguing as the variety of derivatives. Another special car – and one rarely seen on any road – is the 2002 Land Rover Defender TD5 147. “Only 10 of these 6-door Defenders were sold and, incredibly, all 10 came to South Africa. The intention was to sell them to high-end game reserves. A few years later, Land Rover manufactured another three which were used at the factory to ferry visitors about,” adds Nekkies.
Whether Land Rover or Range Rover, Nekkies appre‐ ciates them all. “I bought my first classic Range Rover 3-door in 2012. When another client wanted to restore his 3-door, we decided to do them both together.” The result was a beautiful light blue Range Rover, complete with a 3,5-litre V8 engine and a plush interior. It was a
Little record is kept of early Landys that came to SA as knock-down kits
challenge to research the origins of early Land Rovers that came to South Africa. As Nekkies explained, the early cars came as knock-down kits and were as‐ sembled in Blackheath, Cape Town. Land Rover kept little record of these exported kits.
Finally, we stopped at the 1978 Land Rover “Light‐ weight” with an unusual split windscreen, un‐ doubtedly the jewel in Nekkies’ collection. Based on a Series III, this was the vehicle Angolan military leader Jonas Savimbi used during his guerrilla war. It was fas‐ cinating to hear the stories about this vehicle and just how many collectors from across the globe have shown an interest in it.