In 1964, the Kaiser Jeep Corporation experimented with a simplified, low-cost version of the Universal Jeep for use in developing countries. This is the tale of the Jeep XLI. 

Today, Jeep is the most valuable property in the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles portfolio, and the carmaker is now aggressively leveraging the power of the Jeep brand far beyond North America, into Europe and Asia. But back in the early 1960s, the exploding global SUV market was not even a faraway dream. The market for 4×4 utility vehicles was solid but small, and to increase its sales volume, the Kaiser Jeep Corporation focused on growing the demand in developing countries. One such effort was the XLI. The initials stood for Xport Low Investment.

.

In the Xport Low Investment Program, base Jeep CJ-5 vehicles would be shipped to foreign markets in CKD (Complete, Knocked Down) form, but minus the exterior bodywork. To reduce costs and build local equity, bodies would be manufactured by local partners using basic metalworking equipment. To facilitate that process, the Jeep engineers in Toledo designed a simplified system of body panels with a minimal component count and no compound curves, generating a full set of blueprints for their prospective local partners.

As the photos show, the bodywork was an exercise in minimalism: The only nod to styling, if we can call it that, was a Gladiator pickup grille stamping tacked onto the flat  front header panel. Underneath, it seems the XLI was the standard Jeep CJ-5 with 81-inch wheelbase, Hurricane F-Head engine with 75 hp, and rugged Dana Spicer 4WD axles and transfer case. We don’t know this, but we presume the special-order Perkins Four 192 diesel engine (62 hp) was also available.

With its sawed-off proportions and squared-off styling, workers around the Toledo plant nicknamed the XLI prototype the “Flintstone-mobile” after the popular ’60s TV cartoon series. But to be fair, we note the baby Jeep has one feature that the American CJ-5 model was lacking: actual, operating doors. It’s not clear if the low-cost XLI CJ-5 project found any takers around the world, but a long-wheelbase CJ-6 version along the same general lines was produced by Tuzla for the Turkish military for several years.