Bodies
Soft Top; Hard Top; Station Wagon; truck cabs;
Tilt version; special bodies
History
Belgium company SA Societe Nouvelle Minerva based in Antwerp, approached Land Rover in 1951 to help them compete for a Belgium Army contract to supply 2500 4x4 vehicles.
Minerva won the contract and Land Rover duly gave technical assistance and supplied LHD CKD kits between 1952 and 1956.
Minerva used sheet-steel for the body and the doors, the vehicles had squared off sloping wings narrower front grilles that Series I UK vehicles.
All were left hand drive with the exhaust pipe outlet located beneath the driver’s door.
The vehicles were canvas soft tops with no exterior door handles and two front seats with a centre toolbox between them.
The spare wheel was mounted on the back tailgate with a jerry can.
FFR Minerva
At some stage Minerva began building their own chassis, these were box welded and had no provision for a pto hole in the rear cross member.
Specialised military versions were a field ambulance, armoured / assault, FFR and a military police version.
Following the success of the military version, in 1953 Minerva began to produce a civilian version.
This vehicle was fitted with three front seats, a drop down tailgate and had a rear pto.
A total of 8,959 CKD were received by June 1956 when the contract between Land Rover and Minerva ended, the Minerva company was liquidated in 1958.
