WILLYS RURAL – The Rural Willys is an SUV that was produced by Willys Overland in the 1950 ‘s , 1960 ‘s and 1970 ‘s in Brazil . In the 1970s, it started to be produced by Ford do Brasil, which bought the Willys factory in 1967, keeping the Rural name and practically all the characteristics of the vehicle unchanged.
It was launched in the United States in 1946 under the name of Jeep Station Wagon , having been the first vehicle of the type with an all-metal body, in contrast to the wooden bodies, then common. With minor differences, it was also produced in other countries such as Japan , where it was manufactured by Mitsubishi, under the name J37, and Argentina , where it was manufactured by Kaiser and is known as Estanciera . The Brazilian model was redesigned in 1960 using as inspiration the modern architecture of Brasília, under construction at the time. This design followed Rural until the end of its production in 1977
MILITARY RURAL VERSION
The launch of the new restyled Rural Willys and later the new Willys pickup would arouse the interest of the army, creating thus a low cost option to replace and complement your utility fleet (old Dodge WC-51, WC-53, WC-54, WC-56). The Brazilian Army was looking for a common platform for use in cargo, personnel, mortar carrier, ambulance and anti-car artillery trailer missions, and in this context both the Rural station wagon version and the pickup could fit perfectly. With this decision taken, the Willys Overland do Brasil team developed studies for military applications, with the first field tests being carried out by the company’s technical team together with the Brazilian Army in mid-1961. With the implementation of small improvements necessary for militarization At the end of the model, the first production contract was signed, with the first deliveries taking place at the end of the same year. Already in active service, the model received the designation of Jeep Willys Military Truck 3/4 tons with 4×4 traction. A curious fact is that this model was the first Brazilian military vehicle to be exported, with 150 units sold to the Portuguese government in 1962, to equip paratrooper units and used in missions in Portuguese colonies at the time, such as Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea, Sao Tome and Timor.
(All notes from Wikipedia and https://www.armasnacionais.com)
