By Thatcar.co.za
We’re not sure… is it a big Willy? Ya, sure! Okay, ya, it’s a BIG WILLY! 😂
Let me give you some history, because here at THATCAR.CO.ZA, we’re all about adult-based education. (Most of you reading this should be adults, right? RIGHT!)
A little history lesson
In 1940, America was getting involved in the Second World War to save YOUROPE from ze Nazi dudes. The US Army approached a couple of car manufacturers — 135, to be exact — and asked them to build a vehicle.
The brief went something like this…
“Dude, we wanna go over there to YOUROPE and kick some Nazi butt in Gerrmany, so we need to build a lightweight, go-anywhere 4×4 that is INDESTRUCTIBLE! Whhhhaaaaa ha ha ha ha ha ha!”
He laughed with an evil smile.
Okay, maybe the laugh is an exaggeration, but it’s my history lesson, so I’ll tell it the way I want to!
So off they went. These 135 manufacturers got to work designing what I assume many thought would be something that could make the Beetle — which was already showing everything else flames — look ordinary.
The closing date for the tender (no, no, not that tender!) arrived, and only three companies responded.
One was known as Willys-Overland, which delivered the “Quad” prototype in November 1940.
It featured a powerful 60-horsepower “Go-Devil” engine and 105 lb-ft of torque (145 Nm). Not only did it exceed the Army’s requirements, but it also beat the other two contenders. One of them was Ford, which produced a vehicle with 85 lb-ft of torque.
Who cares what that is in Nm? 😂
So, Willys won the tender!
But instead of going out and buying a Range Rover and champagne for the slay queens, they built the MB model, the original go-anywhere, do-anything vehicle, which became famous under its nickname: Jeep.
Made famous during World War II, Willys produced more than 300,000 Jeep vehicles. Jeeps were heavily used by every division of the American military.
Now that’s a legacy!
So, where did the Willys name go?
The Willys name eventually disappeared because, in 1963, the parent company, Kaiser Motors, officially renamed the business Kaiser Jeep Corporation to unify the business and improve public perception of the brand under the Kaiser name.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Why the history lesson?
Well, they’re bringing back the original WILLYS name!
At the 2026 Paris Motor Show, Xavier Peugeot, CEO of Jeep Europe, recognised the importance of Willys’ heritage as a key consideration for the brand’s future.
He suggested that reviving Willys could be an important card to play in the fight against vehicles coming from China. With European-based automakers facing an increasingly strong wave of Chinese competition, legacy brands like Jeep need to remain connected to their original values.
And what better way to do that than to bring back the name that started it all?
What would the Willy do?
Would it be a go-anywhere, powerful, trouble-free 4×4?
NOPE!
It shall be Eskom… sorry, I mean, an electric vehicle! 😂
Why?
Because Peugeot’s (not the car, the CEO!) speech focused on the affordability of electric vehicles, suggesting that the revived Willys could be purely electric.
He did, however, also point out that the company’s future range would be 4×4-compatible.
Yippee!
Remember, though, the original Jeep was built to be a practical, affordable vehicle. Let’s hope the new Willys follows that same philosophy.
Because what’s the point of bringing back a legend if ordinary people can’t afford to buy one?
VERDICT
Well, if it stays true to its original virtues — go-anywhere ability, indestructibility and proper off-road 4×4 capability — then I’m happy.
So if you Bring back the Willys… make sure it a BIG one! 😂
