Africa-inspired passion for perfection

Northamptonshire in England is in the heart of Motorsport Valley. It includes the famous Silverstone Grand Prix circuit, numerous Formula 1 teams, including Aston Martin and Mercedes-AMG, and dozens of related research and engineering companies. It is also the home of Oshe Automotive, a business producing some very special vehicles founded by South African David Lane.

Lane was always into cars and motorbikes. He had a bike shop in Meyerton, did a bit of motocross racing and grew up playing with Land Rovers and Toyota Land Cruisers on the family farm in Limpopo. In 2002 he moved to the UK to set up a management consultancy business, eventually merging it with a US firm. He then started looking for new opportunities and returned to his love of motoring and engineering.

That love took on the name of the African God of Thunder, Oshe, and so the automotive company was born. On a visit to the company in its rural village location, surrounded by picturesque British countryside, Lane explained that it was not a company on a mission to make hundreds of cars or millions of pounds, instead it was about sharing the passion for motoring, allowing customers to engage in the sense of fun and adventure.

To achieve that, Lane initially turned to his love of Porsche, specifically the 911. After considering spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on a Singer Porsche, he decided instead to build his own re-creation.

“I probably spent half of what a Singer costs, but I thoroughly enjoyed the process,” he said. “I got to use all the design elements that I love and was able to call on the best people.”

Some of those people now work for Oshe, sharing in the passion for beautifully crafted automobiles and the love of driving. That love is present in Workshop 77, Lane’s first automotive business, which still runs alongside Oshe. It was focused on what he calls “rad cars for rad people”, creating hot rods, cafe racer motorbikes and unusual details such as seats featuring jungle scenes on the inserts. It’s all about the ultimate in bespoke automotive craftsmanship, but Lane admits that it has been a business ruled by the heart and not the head.

Oshe is still about the passion, but there is more business savvy to the operation. Lane is planning to continue building bespoke versions of the Porsche 911, but he has also turned to his other love, the Land Rover Defender. His first creation is the Okavango, a safari specification model based on the Defender 90 and, not surprisingly, inspired by his time on the family game farm. It is Lane’s view of the perfect safari Defender, with classic looks and modern touches. It is a thing of beauty, like a bespoke timepiece or tailored suit, a talking point outside a top restaurant, among guests at a luxury five-star reserve or parked alongside a favourite beach spot.

That’s just the outside, but inside is where the real talking points are, including the Ndebele artwork taking pride of place in the centre of the dashboard. There’s an exquisite mahogany wooden steering wheel, a gear stick made from acacia wood and the ultimate in up-cycling — drive buttons created from old typewriter keys. The Marula Red heated leather seats have been handmade at Lane’s workshop, also by a South African and there is a removable bikini top for when you need to keep the elements out.

There are plenty of modern luxury items too, including Bluetooth audio, Burmester speakers and wireless phone charging. Modernity also equates to reliability and an enjoyable drive and for that there is a V8 beneath the bonnet, AP Racing brakes and electronically controlled suspension. This includes five settings to enhance handling both on and off-road.

Another work in progress is a Defender 110 pickup, but unlike any you have seen before. Again, the finishes are bespoke, the interior tailored with the best leather and wood together with elegantly integrated modern features. It too has a V8 engine beneath the bonnet and an eight-speed automatic transmission to handle it. Electronic suspension provides comfort in town and ability off-road, and of course it has the added practicality of a roof and a load bed.

Priced from £225,000 (R5,380,000) an Oshe Adventure model isn’t in the same realm as most other Defenders. Considering how bespoke each one is and the amount of passion that goes into them, it’s a fair price to pay for luxury and exclusivity.

“If you want to stand out, you can pitch up in a Lamborghini Miura or you can pitch up in this Landy and make a statement,” he said. Admittedly a Miura is going to cost significantly more, but today exclusivity sells and that is what Oshe provides. It’s also about that personal connection with the customer. The company has no investors, no-one saying Lane and his team need to move on to the next car or build more cars.

While work on the remaining three models in the Adventure series continues, Lane is planning to build more cars and will return to his love of the 911. He has some very exciting plans on the drawing board, but won’t divulge everything just yet. What is apparent though, is that whether it’s a Porsche or a Land Rover, he and his team have a passion to create the best, whatever it takes.