Willys MB US Army Jeep, 1942. “Barn Find”.

Willys MB US Army Jeep, 1942. “Barn Find”. Manufactured at the height of World War II and used un the US Italian Campaign where it was left in Italy by the US Army after the war. Subsequently it was registered in Italy on 18th April, 1947 and still has the Roma registration number from the period with the fascist logo. The Jeep was used as a country car by the family of a Count on their Estate just north of Rome and in the late 70s it was put into storage where it was discovered in early 2013. A fantastic opportunity to restore a “barn find”, genuine World War II Jeep. The Willys MB US Army Jeep was manufactured from 1941 to 1945 and these four-wheel drive utility vehicles are considered the iconic World War II Jeep and inspired many similar light utility vehicles.

By July 1941, the War Department desired to standardise and selected a single manufacturer to supply them with the next order for another 16,000 vehicles. Willys won the contract mostly due to the more powerful engine (the “Go Devil”) which soldiers raved about and its lower cost and silhouette. The design features improvements over Willys original design and were incorporated into the new Willys, moving it from an “A” designation to a “B”, thus the “MB” nomenclature.

The Jeep is “the vehicle” from World War II and as such have become increasingly collectable not just in the US but throughout Europe. War time examples are by far the most desirable, demanding a premium over the later post-war Hotchkiss variants of which many more exist.

A very rare opportunity indeed.