10 off-road vehicles that made car design history

Born as pure and simple military vehicles during World War II, they have evolved over time to strike an incredible balance between versatility and elegance.

You cannot tell the history of off-road vehicles without starting with the Willys MB, universally recognised as the ‘grandfather’ of the genre. Born in 1941, along with it came the term jeep, which stands for GP, or General Purpose. This vehicle was supposed to be a light reconnaissance all-rounder capable of tackling a wide range of terrain, much like the horse was in World War I. Its role was so fundamental that President Eisenhower called it “one of the three crucial weapons of the United States during World War II”, while the US Army made it famous all over the world by selling some of the 650,000 produced vehicles to the Allies. There was no latitude that had not seen at least one of them. The civilian version of the Willys MB arrived in 1945 with the Jeep CJ. It was the first consecration of a brand that is still alive with an important record: it was the first all-wheel drive mass-produced car.

Willys MB (1941)

Browse the gallery to discover the other models that have made the history of the off-roads. 

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