Willys Motors proposed this novel design for a four-wheel-drive utility vehicle in 1959, but the United States military respectfully declined.
In the years following World War II, Willys Motors of Toledo and the U.S. military continued to search for vehicles to replace the world-famous Jeep—with surprisingly mixed results. The trusty Jeep was not very fast, safe, or efficient, and it was increasingly long in the tooth, but it was versatile and nearly unbreakable. Alternative utility vehicles used by the U.S. armed forces in the cold war years included the American Motors M422 Mighty Mite, the Ford M151 Mutt, and the Willys M274 Mechanical Mule, all interesting machines. And though it never won a government contract or went into series production, there’s one more vehicle that’s worthy of a closer look: the XM443E1 Cargo-Personnel Carrier, unofficially known as the Super Mule.
As the name suggests, the Super Mule could be described as a larger, more powerful version of the Mechanical Mule. While the Mule was designed for just one passenger and had no suspension, the Super Mule could carry six soldiers and was blessed with independent coil spring suspension on all four corners.
With its platform-style body construction that it shared with the standard Mule, the Super Mule could accommodate a number of top, seating, and cargo configurations to serve as a personnel carrier, a utility truck, or a field ambulance. While the curb weight was a mere 1500 lbs, the cargo capacity was also 1500 lbs, earning the vehicle a full 3/4-ton military designation.
Body construction was of aluminum on a steel chassis, with a sliding windshield that could be stowed away in the forward body panel. All four wheels could steer or drive, propelled by an opposed four-cylinder, air-cooled engine located just ahead of the rear wheels. With a displacement of 164 cubic inches, the petite four-stroke powerplant was rated at 72 hp and coupled to a conventional three-speed manual gearbox and two-speed transfer case. To save a few more precious pounds of weight the brake drums and wheels were integrated. Pretty advanced stuff for 1959, all things considered.
Willys Motors, which was then a division of Kaiser Industries, constructed two prototypes at the request of the U.S. Army and Marines. (One source says four prototypes were ordered.) Detailed scale models were also produced for the military to demonstrate all the interchangeable body, top, and seating configurations available. The prototypes were then tested at the Ordnance Tank Automotive Command (now TACOM) in Warren, Michigan, and that’s where the project stalled out. As the story goes, the vehicles suffered too many reliability problems to encourage any further development. At last report, at least one of the Super Mule prototypes is still in existence in the hands of a private collector.
