Willys (Willys-Overland) Willys MB History

In 1940 the US Army solicited bids for a light quarter-ton 4x4 reconnaissance vehicle. Willys-Overland's entry, powered by its sturdy 'Go Devil' L-head four-cylinder engine, won the standardization contract in July 1941, beating prototypes from American Bantam (who did much of the original design work) and Ford. The standardized production vehicle was designated the Willys MB.

Demand far outstripped Willys's capacity, so Ford built the same vehicle under license as the GPW. Roughly 640,000 MB/GPW jeeps were produced from 1941 to 1945 — Willys built about 363,000 of them — making the jeep one of the most important vehicles of the war and, by many accounts, a machine that helped win it.

Willys trademarked the 'Jeep' name and parlayed the MB's fame into the postwar civilian CJ ('Civilian Jeep') line, the Jeep Station Wagon, and the Jeepster. The MB is the direct ancestor of every Jeep built since.