Legendary Willys Jeep 4x4 set to inspire new small SUV

The legendary Willys Jeep MB is set to make a comeback, with the brand’s European boss, Xavier Peugeot, revealing that the World War Two hero could inspire a new small SUV expected to arrive sometime after 2030.

Jeep’s valiant military vehicle is arguably one of the most iconic cars ever designed, and while its seven-slot grille has become a signature of the brand, featuring on every model in its range, a new Jeep Willys could go even further, more closely reimagining the original.

A teaser image for the new Jeep Willys shown to Auto Express hinted that it could even be a similar size to the WW2 off-roader which measured just 3.3 metres long – smaller than the existing Jeep Avenger. The picture showed what looked like the shadow of a boxy crossover, sitting behind the soft-top original.

Xavier Peugeot, who took charge of the Jeep brand in Europe less than two months ago, announced the plan to bring back the Willys at the Paris Motor Show. Jeep seems to be following the same strategy as other brands there, with the reborn Citroen 2CV and Smart ForTwo’s long-awaited successor among the biggest cars revealed at the show.

The Jeep boss did stress that the plans for the Willys’ return are in the very early stages, with more time needed to flesh things out and give us a clearer picture of what’s to come. 

However, he assured us that Jeep will be relying on its roots going forward, and the team already has plenty of ideas about this new incarnation of the iconic 4x4 to consider. 

“We’ve got a strong heritage, which started more than 85 years ago,” Peugeot told us. “But the world is changing, and we have to consider what Jeep stands for without betraying our values, but also being able to reinterpret them for the future. 

“Spaces will be even more precious than before. Ecologically responsible answers will be [expected] more than ever. There will be, more than ever, a will to go for outdoor solutions. We also expect to be able to explain that being smaller will not mean getting less. It will mean being more smart, and that's what we expect to do. We expect every centimetre in our product to work harder.”

Peugeot also said, “our responsibility is to be able to translate Jeep’s original DNA into concrete and strong answers for European customers. The key word for Jeep in Europe is, of course, freedom. It's also adventure, it’s authenticity, and it's passion. And when you evolve such an iconic brand, you feel the responsibility to continue [focusing on these values].”

Peugeot assured us that all of the new Jeeps will be available with four-wheel drive, which is a key part of the brand’s DNA.

As mentioned, the new Willys is just one of four European models Jeep has in the pipeline. The others include an all-new Renegade, a D-segment SUV being developed in collaboration with Chinese firm Dongfeng, and the off-road-focused Recon 4x4, which isn’t coming to the UK.

“Our ambition is simple and clear. First of all, we would like to strengthen our presence across the key SUV segments. That's where our business is, and we will continue to do so.” With the addition of four new models, Jeep is hoping to cover about 90 per cent of the SUV market in Europe, up from around 50 per cent right now with just the compact Avenger and mid-size Compass on sale.

“We will do so, basically, by relying on our strong and iconic products and we’ve got quite a lot of them,” said Peugeot.

Of course, Jeep’s halo model has long been the legendary Wrangler 4x4. However, that has been axed in the UK and other markets because it’s no longer compliant with European emissions or safety regulations. Peugeot wouldn’t comment on a potential return for the venerable off-roader.

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