IT'S A JEEP THING

The mighty Wrangler is as capable as ever and now it’s made right here in India

- KARAN SINGH

IT’S A TALE AS OLD AS TIME ITSELF. 135 COMPANIES were invited to bid in an auction to build an LRV (a light reconnaissance vehicle) for the US Army in 1940. The tight deadlines and the very specific requirements meant that only two companies called back — Willys-Overland and Bantam. At the end, Bantam’s design was selected but the Army handed out these blueprints to Willys-Overland and Ford so that war-time demand could be met. It was a simple, four-wheel-drive SUV, before the term SUV was even coined! — and weighed no more than a quarter of a tonne. Just months later, Willys refined the design and put together the MA. A year later came the iconic MB which featured axe and spade mounts, a larger fuel tank and even machine gun mounts! This helped Willys bag an order of 16,000 MBs (vehicles, not data) for the Army. Any guesses on how much each cost? $738.74, approximately Ì€ 10 lakh in today’s money. The MB paved the way for all Jeeps to come — the MC that followed, the CJs (Civilian Jeeps) and of course, the Wrangler. Since the CJs in the 1940s to the JL in 2021, there have been just three other generations in between. None of them however stray as far away from their roots as this Firecracker Red Wrangler Rubicon in front of me. Because this one isn’t from Detroit. It’s made right here in India. We’re only the second market outside of the USA to manufacture (okay, assemble) the Wrangler. But from where I’m standing, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.