††In 1939, the US Army decided that it needed a new type of military vehicle, a small truck with many everyday practical uses. It had to be quick and easy to produce and fairly lightweight, but with a four-wheel drive system to enable it to negotiate difficult terrain.
The jeep was finally launched on 10th June 1939. It had only taken 75 days to develop, but was a great success. Over 585,000 were made and distributed during the Second World War, and they are still manufactured today. At the end of the war the Rover car company saw that the vehicle had potential peacetime uses, and the first Land Rover soon rolled off the production line.
