c1944 Ford Jeep WW2 (LHD)

Description

One by-product of military conflict is the rapid pace of technical development and an example of that is the United States Army, which inadvertently created an entirely new class of vehicle during World War II, one that remains hugely popular today - the off-roader. Needing a reconnaissance vehicle suitable for all types of terrain, be it the muddy fields of Europe or the desert sands of North Africa, the U.S. Army contracted the Willys-Overland Company to produce what became universally known as the Jeep. Designed by Karl Probst for the American Bantam Car Company in record time in 1940, the all-wheel drive Jeep successfully met a whole range of testing criteria and was powered by the rugged Willys ?Go Devil? four-cylinder engine. With Willys-Overland unable to meet production demand, the U.S. War Department turned to Ford as an alternative supplier, although its Model GPW was still built largely to Willys' specifications with only minor changes - for example, every component was stamped with the letter "F". In total some 640,000 Jeeps were built during the War, 277,896 of them by Ford, and what was once merely the best method of getting G.I.s from A to B has since been hailed as a landmark piece of industrial design, with an example kept on display in New York's Museum of Modern Art. The Jeep has continued to be used for its intended purpose in remote areas, on farms and in industrial settings, and at the same time has become globally popular with military and automotive enthusiasts alike.