In 1974, 54 Mercedes-Benz Unimog 416–162 chassis had been hastily converted into Bosvarks by 61 Base Workshops in Pretoria.

The Bosvark offered limited landmine protection to the crew, but compensated for this with good off-road mobility.

[1] The Buffel (Afrikaans for Buffalo) was not a wholly South African built vehicle, but made use of the chassis, engine and some other components of the Mercedes-Benz U416-162 Unimog,[1] which were fitted with a domestically designed armoured driver's cab and separate armoured troop compartment.

Land mine protection was provided by the V-shaped hull underneath these compartments, which quite effectively deflected the blast.

In order to help dissipate the energy from hitting a mine, the large tyres were sometimes filled with water, adding about 500 kg per wheel to the vehicle weight.