1953 Land Rover. Click image to enlarge

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Article and photo by Bill Vance

The popular sport utility vehicle owes its origins to the military Jeep, the rugged, lovable little quarter-ton, general purpose, four-wheel drive workhorse that helped the Allies win the Second World War. It also won the hearts of soldiers in battlefields around the globe.

When the war ended in 1945, Willys-Overland eschewed cars, and tapped into the Jeeps’ deep reservoir of good will by bringing a civilian version to market for road travel, and agriculture and other off-road uses. This Universal Jeep, as it was initially called, brought to “civvy street” the same all-purpose capability it had demonstrated during the war. It was an immediate success.

Once Jeep had established the concept, others followed. In England, the Rover Company was contemplating its future following the war-time production of aero engines. Its cars, which it had built since 1904, had developed a reputation for being solid, if staid.

England’s post-war cry was “Export or Die,” which meant exporting to North America to earn hard dollars. But Rover’s pre-war designed cars were not that well suited to the North American market. This made it difficult for Rover to obtain steel which the government was allocating to companies with strong export plans.

Coincidentally, Maurice Wilks, Rover’s design director, needed to replace the aging Jeep on his farm. He discussed this with his brother Spencer, Rover’s managing director, and they decided to try constructing their own replacement for the Jeep.

Not about to re-invent the wheel, early in 1947 they bought two used war surplus Jeeps which they had stripped down and analyzed. One was then fitted with a four-cylinder engine from the Rover 10, a modified car transmission, and a four-wheel drive transfer case. A basic rectangular body was fashioned, and the Land Rover, as it was called, was born.

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