LP 1413 at the Cape of Good Hope
Classic vehicle
An LP 1413 has been doing faithful service since 1977 at the Cape of Good Hope.
De Villiers Lategan searches for the right word in his head, in the dictionary, on the internet: "Bestendigheid," he finally calls out triumphantly. It is a mystery to him, a wiry South African, why he did not hit on the word straight away in his native Afrikaans. After all, reliability has been a major theme in the life of the 50-year-old director of "Lategan’s Sementwerke" in Wellington, South Africa.
Out of the 14 vehicles in his fleet, one has a particular place in
his heart: the Mercedes Benz LP 1413 – by far the oldest truck in the
fleet. The "bubble nose", as the legendary short-nosed
vehicle is known at the Cape of Good Hope, has reached the grand old
age of 37 and is still in use every day.
"The bubble nose is one of the family," says Lategan, who
even has the original invoice to show: his father paid 15,000 South
African rand for the truck; that was 17,250 US dollars at the rate of
exchange back then.
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1 comment
I don´t think it´s a LP 1413, only L1413!!! Or?
Best regards
Percy Hellborgsson
I don´t think it´s a LP 1413, only L1413!!! Or?
Best regards
Percy Hellborgsson