How the Jeepster got it on
It takes more than a cool name to claim status as the first SUV (but it helps)
What was the first SUV? While the term “Sport Utility Vehicle” wasn’t widely used until the 1980s, the concept of an off-road style vehicle intended mainly for urban/leisure use (which is what an SUV really is these days) emerged much, much earlier.
There are candidates from the 1930s, including the Chevrolet Carryall Suburban — essentially a two-door wagon body on a truck chassis. It’s in the name, right?
But the Suburban was pretty utilitarian; a bit too sensible to achieve true SUV-dom. For our money, the first SUV in the modern sense of the term was the WillysOverland Jeepster of 1948.
Willys (later to become Jeep, celebrating its 80th anniversary this year) worked quickly to adapt its military vehicles for the postWorld War II market, including the hard-working Civilian Jeep (CJ) for farming and forestry use.
But in 1948 it went next-lifestylelevel with the Jeepster, which was based on the tougher militaryderived models, with the same frontal styling and flat guards, but reimagined as a sporty convertible with bright colours and luxury trim.
Jeepster boasted whitewall tyres, shiny hubcaps, sun visors and a locking glovebox. It was powered by the war-proven “Go Devil” 63kW engine and had decent ground clearance, but it wasn’t meant to go too far off the beaten track because it was reardrive only, which makes it a very modern SUV in our eyes. Willys reckoned War veterans would love to have it parked outside their houses in Civvy Street. Jeepster wasn’t a huge success in the end; it was underpowered and expensive compared with other sports minded models of the time (a sixcylinder engine option was added just before production ended in 1950). And maybe it was a bit too . . . weird.
The name did come back on a similar 1966 model, the C-101 Jeepster Commando. And again this year for the Jeepster Beach concept . . . although making a Jeepster that’s truly off-roadcapable kind of defeats the purpose.
The “Jeepster” name came from Willys of course, but the Urban Dictionary says it’s a slang term for an average person who pursues a dream with great tenacity. It cites the 1971 T-Rex song Jeepster as an example, which uses cars as a metaphor for difference in social status: “Just like a car you’re pleasing to behold/I’ll call you Jaguar if I may be so bold/’Cos you’re my baby, ’cos you’re mylove/Oh girl I’m just a Jeepster for your love.”
Or maybe Marc Bolan just had a deep and abiding interest in the origin story of the SUV genre, perhaps even foreseeing the launch of the Jaguar F-Pace SUV in 2016.
It’s impossible to say.
‘ Jeepster boasted whitewall tyres, shiny hubcaps, sun visors and a locking glovebox. ’