The U.S. Marine Corps needed a smaller, lighter Jeep-type vehicle that could be carried by helicopter. American Motors answered the call.
Above: Seated proudly in the passenger seat of a 1959 Mighty MIte is American Motors president George Romney, with an unidentified Marine officer behind the wheel. For some years, the Corps was in search of a Jeep-like utility vehicle that was light and small enough to be loaded by hand and air-dropped by helicopter, and the Mighty Mite was the result.
Willys submitted a Jeep-based proposal, but the USMC ultimately chose a clean-sheet design from the Mid-America Research Corporation (MARCO) and Ben F. Gregory, the pioneering front-drive engineer. Originally called the MARCO MM-100 and powered by a Porsche flat four, the dinky but capable vehicle soon won the nickname Mighty Mite. In 1954, American Motors took over the MIghty Mite’s development program and in 1959, production began with the official designation M-422.
Compared to the WIllys Jeep, a 1940 design, Gregory’s Mighty Mite concept was far more sophisticated. Front and rear suspension were independent via cantilever leaf springs and leading/trailing arms, with inboard drum brakes on all four wheels. The wheelbase was a tiny 65 inches, overall length was only nine feet, and an all-aluminum body kept the weight down to just 1,700 lbs. A compact New Process transfer case with an integral crawler gear transferred the power to the limited-slip front and rear differentials.
Equally remarkable was the engine, an air-cooled V4 originally developed by AMC for a subcompact car that was never produced. Block and heads were aluminum while the finned cylinders were cast iron, and the 3.25-in bore and stroke yielded a total displacement of 108 cubic inches. Rated at 52 horsepower, the V4 was good for 55 mph in the Mighty Mite, which could carry 850 lbs. of cargo and climb a 50 percent grade in the USMC’s grueling test regime.
After around 1,000 vehicles were produced, the wheelbase was lengthened to 71 inches, adding much-needed storage area behind the seats, and a sturdier windshield was fitted. This vehicle was called the M422A1. (There may also be an M422A2, but it’s a mystery.) When the assembly line stopped in December of 1962, a total of 3,922 Mighty Mites were produced, reportedly.
The Mighty Mite’s short enlistment has been atttibuted to two factors: First, at around $5,000 per unit, it was costly for a light utility. Next, over the vehicle’s long gestation period, helicopters had improved considerably in their load capacity and the Marines no longer needed a special lightweight vehicle. In the late 1960s, Mighty Mites began to appear on the military surplus market, and a surprising number of them are still around today in the hands of enthusiasts and collectors.
