Willys-TYPE MB
1941 - 1945
The Jeep name is at least four years older than the automobile itself. Americans have been laughing at “Eugene the Jeep” since 1936, when the strange little four-dimensional dog with the electric tail and diet of orchids started to play a bizarre supporting role next to Popeye in E.C. Segar’s comic strip.
The real Jeep’s history started in 1937, when the tiny Bantam company demonstrated a small ¼-ton 4x4 truck to the US army as a military vehicle. The US Quartermaster Corps then sent out an invitation to 135 companies requesting them to present their prototype for a small off-road vehicle 49 days subsequently. Only three companies took up the invitation: Bantam, Willys Overland and Ford. It was in this order that they presented their prototypes in November 1937, and at the end it was Willys Overland that won the competition with the most powerful engine of the three.
All three commenced production of the same automobile in 1941, but it was of course Ford who became the main supplier with 281,448 units. Bantam disappeared from the scene after building only 2643 units. Nevertheless, after building 2643 army trucks Willys Overland continued manufacturing the Jeep after the end of the war. The civilian model that appeared back in 1945 was called the Jeep CJ (Civil Jeep) and at the time cost 1090 dollars. Today it would cost more than ten times that amount.
The basic elements of the victorious warrior remained largely the same in peacetime. The technical features included a box-section frame and solid axles, which only after several decades gave up their leaf-spring suspension for coil springs. And in terms of design, the distant descendants of the Army Jeep still bear a striking stylistic resemblance to the original Willys Overland prototype even after 70 years.
In terms of performance, the original Willys-Jeep MA, with 61 horsepower (45 kW), is surpassed by its youngest descendant, the Jeep Wrangler JL, boasting 272 horsepower (200 kW). The special edition Wrangler JL Rubicon 392, introduced in 2021, even outshines them all with a 6.4-liter Hemi V8 engine delivering 470 horsepower. Of course, all this comes at a price, just a bit over $1090.
