The Europa Jeep was a multinational

military vehicle A military vehicle is any vehicle for land-based military transport and activity, including combat vehicles, both specifically designed for or significantly used by military. Most military vehicles require Off-road vehicle, off-road capabilities ...

project that was ultimately abandoned before it could enter production. During the 1960s, several

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an governments began cooperating on development of a vehicle known as the Europa Jeep, a lightweight,

amphibious Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...

four-wheel drive vehicle that could be

mass-produced Mass production, also known as mass production, series production, series manufacture, or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. ...

for use by various national military and government groups. Development of the vehicle proved time-consuming, however, and by 1979 the project had been abandoned. The

West German West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republic after its capital c ...

government was in need of a limited number of light, inexpensive, durable transport vehicles that could fulfill their basic needs while the Europa Jeep was being developed and put into production.

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

was instead instructed by the West German government to create the

Volkswagen 181 The Volkswagen Type 181 is a two-wheel drive, four-door convertible, manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen from 1968 until 1983. Originally developed for the Bundeswehr, West German Army, the Type 181 also entered the civilian market as the K ...

. After the abandonment of the Europa Jeep, a number of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

countries also adopted the 181. The

Bundeswehr Museum of German Defense Technology The Bundeswehr Museum of German Defense Technology also known as ''Wehrtechnisches Museum Koblenz'' and ''Wehrtechnische Studiensammlung Koblenz'' (WTS-Koblenz) is the official Bundeswehr's Defense Technology Study Collection in Koblenz. It is o ...

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

has protypes of ''Europa Jeeps'' in the exhibition. A total of three countries were allied to manufacture the Europa Jeep, including West German,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. A total of six manufactures were selected to produce the vehicle including

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

MAN A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the f ...

, and

Saviem The Société Anonyme de Véhicules Industriels et d'Équipements Mécaniques (), commonly known by the acronym Saviem (), was a French manufacturer of trucks and buses/coaches part of the Renault group, headquartered in Suresnes, Île-de-France ...

, and Hotchkiss,

Büssing Büssing AG was a German bus and truck manufacturer, established in 1903 by Heinrich Büssing (1843–1929) in Braunschweig. It quickly evolved to one of the largest European producers, whose utility vehicles with the Brunswick Lion emblem were w ...

, and

Lancia Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe, which is the European subsidiary of Stellantis. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganise ...

with Vehicule de Commandement et de Liaison VCL

guideline A guideline is a statement by which to determine a course of action. It aims to streamline particular processes according to a set routine or sound practice. They may be issued by and used by any organization (governmental or private) to make ...

s which needed to comply with the same specifications.

Specifications

* Engine:

Multifuel Multifuel, sometimes spelled multi-fuel, is any type of engine, boiler, or heater or other fuel-burning device which is designed to burn multiple types of fuels in its operation. One common application of multifuel technology is in military s ...

* Power: 40-50 HP * Speed: 95

kmph The kilometre per hour ( SI symbol: km/h; non-SI abbreviations: kph, kmph, km/hr) is a unit of speed, expressing the number of kilometres travelled in one hour. History Although the metre was formally defined in 1799, the term "kilometres per ho ...

* Range: 800 Km * Payload: 500 Kg * Drivetrain:

4x4 A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case provi ...

* Trailer Load: 750 Kg * Weight: Below 1.5

Ton Ton is any of several units of measure of mass, volume or force. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. As a unit of mass, ''ton'' can mean: * the '' long ton'', which is * the ''tonne'', also called the ''metric ...

With these specifications the vehicle needed to be amphibious, off-road worthy and durable enough to be air dropped. After the selection of the best model a total of 50,000 unit were to be built for each county which never happened.

External links

References

Off-road vehicles Wheeled amphibious vehicles Amphibious military vehicles {{Classicpow-auto-stub

Specifications

See also

External links

References