Jeep brand honors its heritage with 2025 Wrangler 4xe Willys ’41 special edition [Photo Gallery]

In a salute to the original, battle-tested Jeep SUV – the legendary 1941 Willys MB – the Jeep brand proudly introduces the 2025 Jeep Wrangler 4xe Willys ’41 special edition.

“Eight decades after cementing a reputation for all-terrain capability, straightforward design and tough versatility, the spirit of the original Willys MB lives on in everything we do at Jeep brand,” said Bob Broderdorf, senior vice president and head of Jeep brand North America. “The new 2025 Jeep Wrangler 4xe Willys ’41 is a testament to that heritage. It’s a celebration of our past that inspires us, while we keep pushing the boundaries of capability and innovation.”

The 2025 Wrangler 4xe Willys ’41 also takes cues from the beloved Jeep ’41 concept, which made headlines at the 2022 Easter Jeep Safari. The annual off-road event in Moab, Utah, is a mecca for Jeep enthusiasts and where the brand showcases concept vehicles that push the boundaries of design and capability and inspire future production models.

A Salute to the Past, Built for the Future
The 2025 Jeep Wrangler 4xe Willys ’41 features a new, military olive drab-inspired ’41 exterior paint color, instantly evoking the spirit of the original Willys MB. Exclusive 17-inch aluminum wheels painted in the same hue are wrapped in aggressive 33-inch all-terrain tires.  

The Jeep design team crafted the hood-side WILLYS / 4XE decals to honor the brand’s storied military heritage. Finished in a period-correct Drab Blue, these decals nod to the original factory stenciling mandated by the U.S. Army on Willys MBs during World War II. Jeep designers ensured that the color and style authentically replicate the utilitarian aesthetic of the era, capturing the rugged and functional spirit that defined the original Jeep vehicles and continues to be a hallmark today. Other unique, Army-inspired decals adorn the exterior, further amplifying this special model’s heritage homage.

Inside, Wrangler 4xe Willys ’41 is fitted with a unique interior with tan Heritage cloth seats, an olive drab fabric dashboard insert and a ’41 shifter medallion. Maximizing open-air freedom of choice, available roofs include a body-color hardtop, Sky One-touch powertop roof and a coming, exclusive tan soft-top. Standard features include a rear locker for enhanced traction and front and rear steel bumpers for added off-road protection.

From Go Devil to Green Machine
The class-exclusive, plug-in hybrid Wrangler 4xe is the best-selling PHEV in America three years in a row. Its advanced powertrain perfectly showcases 80-plus years of technical evolution since those original “Go Devil” engines powered the Willys MB.

The class-exclusive 4xe system combines a 2.0-liter turbocharged gas engine, two electric motors and a high-voltage battery pack to deliver 49 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe), 21 miles of all-electric range and zero range anxiety. The powertrain is part of a global electrification initiative that is transforming 4xe into the new 4×4.

The 2025 Jeep Wrangler 4xe Willys ’41 special edition has a U.S. manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $59,930 (excluding $1,895 destination charge). Orders are now open alongside the rest of the 2025 Jeep Wrangler lineup and will be in Jeep dealer showrooms before the end of the calendar year.

The Genesis of an American Icon
In July 1940, the U.S. military informed automakers that it was looking for a “light reconnaissance vehicle.” It invited 135 manufacturers to bid on production and developed a lengthy specification list for the vehicle, including a 600-lb. load capacity, wheelbase less than 75 inches, height less than 36 inches, a smooth-running engine from 3 to 50 mph, a rectangular-shaped body, four-wheel drive with a two-speed transfer case, fold-down windshield, three bucket seats, blackout and driving lights and a gross vehicle weight below 1,300 lbs.

Three companies, including Jeep’s predecessor, Willys-Overland, answered the call. Each produced prototypes for testing in record time. The Army took possession of these vehicles in November 1940 at Camp Holabird, Maryland. Each of the three designs exceeded the Army’s specification of 1,300 lbs., but the Army soon realized that limit was far too low and raised it for the next round of vehicles.

The Army issued the next round of contracts in March 1941, including an ask for Willys-Overland to build 1,500 examples of its Quad. Further testing and evaluation led to the Army’s selection of the Willys vehicle as the standard. A contract was signed on July 15, 1941, to begin production.

With modifications and improvements, the Willys Quad became the MA and later the MB. But the Army, and the world, came to know it as the Jeep. Some claimed that the name came from the slurring of the letters “GP,” the military abbreviation for “general purpose.” Others say the vehicle was named for a popular character named Eugene the Jeep in the Popeye cartoon strip. Whatever its origin, the name entered into the American lexicon.

Willys-Overland produced almost 360,000 Jeep vehicles at the Toledo, Ohio, plant between October of 1941 and August 1945. WWII reporter Ernie Pyle once said, “It did everything. It went everywhere. Was as faithful as a dog, as strong as a mule, and as agile as a goat. It constantly carried twice what it was designed for and still kept going.”

Willys trademarked the Jeep name and, even before WWII was over, began building the brand’s first civilian model, the CJ-2A.