WW2 Canvas Top Willys Jeep - A Classic Miltary Vehicle
Only one non-Mercedes vehicle remained on his property and that was an original WW2 Canvas Top Willys Jeep.
Bought in the 1960's for my Mum and Uncles to drive about off road, by the time I was growing up, this particular piece of automotive history had already rusted far beyond being a project car and was mainly used by me and my cousins as a play thing so we could pretend that we were in the army and driving along in it.
It was a very sad day when finally it was collected from his car park to go off to Jeep heaven.
For that reason the Willys Jeep has always had a special place in my heart - I mean who doesn't love the automobiles from their childhood? - and as such I've always wished that I could justify buying one.
Retro off-road vehicles needn't be horrifically expensive with some real bargains out there for someone who knows one end of a spanner from the other and specialist classic vehicle insurance is easy to arrange through Performance Direct.
The trouble is that although the Willys Jeep was a childhood favourite and was the vehicle to coin the term "Jeep" back in 1941 there are so many other retro 4x4's that are well worth considering if you're in the market.
Firstly, sticking with the WW2 theme, if you'd prefer the axis equivalent of our allied forces Willys Jeep then there is of course the Volkswagen Kübelwagen designed by a certain Mr Ferdinand Porsche.
As the German engineers only managed a 2 wheel drive system the vehicle had to remain very light to be able to be used off road.
Various reports in the US clearly state that despite the lack of a four-wheel drive system that it was in fact every bit as capable as the US Willys Jeep and easier to manufacture and repair.
For my own personal taste the VW doesn't have the same pleasing aesthetic of the American counterpart which very much set the styling for every Jeep-type vehicle created since.
"So Rob, it's the Willys Jeep that we want?" I hear you cry. Well, no, not really.
Rambo Lambo - Classic Four Wheel Drive Vehicle
If you are really about to part with a sum of money to acquire yourself a classic four wheel drive then you'd not be human if you didn't seek out a Lamborghini LMA002 - more affectionately known as the Rambo Lambo.
Okay, so once more harping back to my childhood, I like many other people of my age had on my bedroom wall a poster of the Lamborghini Countach.
The Rambo Lambo is powered by that same V12 engine as seen in the opening sequence of "The Cannonball Run" where the Countach rapidly accelerates up a completely straight desert road with the seemingly endless engine note booming from the TV speakers.
As such the LMA002 cannot be ignored when looking at retro 4x4's as I for one still dream of a car with that kind of soundtrack.
The one real drawback is that there aren't many of them about and the few that do come up for sale are so sought after they can easily fetch a £50k price.
But then, for less than £10k you cannot ignore the Toyota Land Cruiser.
Originally developed and based upon the design of a captured Willys Jeep in the 1940's, Toyota made what became one of the most phenomenal off roaders ever produced.
In Australia they were particularly trusted as one of very few vehicles that would get taken deep into the outback where a reliable car can make the difference between survival and death.
The more modern versions, although extremely capable, have lost the wonderful boxy Jeep styled look of the original vehicles which I think is a great loss.
And so, with that point made, it brings me to the final vehicle that I would like to discuss with you. Any guesses which retro four wheel drive Jeep-type vehicle is missing from this discussion?
Okay, so it probably doesn't take much of a car nut to shout out, "The Land Rover".
Yes, despite my childhood fascination with the American Willys Jeep I just can't get away from my never ending love for the Land Rover Series.
What could be better than a series III Land Rover sporting the now iconic Rover V8 engine that pretty much ran Britain during the halcyon days of British engineering.
Whether you're looking at a TVR, an SD1 or of course the Land Rover, upon turning that key you'll hear that same familiar V8 roar into life.
Sales were very much perpetuated by the Australians who used the Land Rover due to it's reliability and off road capabilities but ultimately it was replaced by the afore mentioned Toyota Land Cruiser for the exact same reasons.
This doesn't put me off though as the British Army still to this day use Land Rovers in vast quantities although they now use the modern Defender version.
If there is a better, hardier, more versatile, historical, well-liked, iconic, useful, brutally stylish, retro four wheel drive Jeep-type vehicle then I really don't know what it is.... Although, even I have got to admit that the original Mercedes G Wagon, short for Geländewagen (cross country vehicle) would be also a pretty difficult vehicle to resist.
