Military vehicles are a strong area of the car hobby, and this newly-retired Land Rover Perentie at the 2013 Historic Commercial Vehicle Club show is an interesting example. This is a locally developed version of the Land Rover (by Jaguar Rover Australia) and powered by a 3.9L Isuzu diesel. They were first introduced in 1988, and retired from 2013 to be replaced by Mercedes G-wagens.
The Perentie is named after the fourth-largest monitor lizard in the world, and doesn’t just refer to the 6×6 variant but also the 4×4 version; only 700-odd 6×6’s were built. The 6×6 has a turbocharged version of the Isuzu 4-cyl diesel, with the most iconic variant being the Long Range Patrol version used by the Australian SAS.
I think it must be compulsory for such a display to include some Jeeps, and here are three. Two are in US Army livery, and I presume the light blue Jeep must be air force?
Another key vehicle from WW2 was the Canadian Military Pattern (CMP) truck, more commonly known as a Blitz truck in Australia. This is an earlier cab type that is rare now, and known as a “monkeyface” or alligator cab – note the upper part of the radiator grille lifts with the bonnet/hood. This truck is also a long-wheelbase version.
Chevrolet made almost as many CMP trucks as Ford did, with their 85 hp 216 ci inline six and while it may have had slightly less power, the Ford V8 had overheating problems. This is a short wheelbase (101”), and note the later cab style with its forward-leaning windscreen that avoided reflections to aircraft.
This is the interior which is expectedly minimalist! Something like 850,000 CMP trucks were built in dozens of varieties.
This Ford version is a mid-length wheelbase and has a solid steel cab although still with side curtain windows. This sort of 4×4 truck was a staple of many fire brigades as well as a myriad of other uses after the war.
These Jeeps are in Australian Army livery. I doubt that any two WW2 Jeeps would have the same exact specification now.
There will be tens of thousands of retired Humvees in the US, but they are unusual over here (probably fewer than civilian Hummer H1s), outside of military installations in northern Australia where joint exercises with US forces are held. This one has USAF markings, a roof-mounted machine gun (replica at least) and a trailer.
Note the Pinzgauer 6×6 behind the first three Jeeps, which was used in many military forces too, and featured in the first post in this series. Next time I will be looking at the Australian International-Harvester trucks.