Forward Control Commuter

While Willys has been credited with the world’s first SUV with its lineup beginning in the late 1940′s, it almost won the title of the world’s first mini-van. While many people are familiar with the FC-150 and FC-170 lineup of the late 1950′s, this unique “commuter” was constructed as a prototype by Reutter in Stutgart,West Germany. Reutter was a coachwork business and played a hand in the production of the early Volkswagons and Porsches. Not much is known about the thought process behind this design, only that the Milwaukee Industrial designer, Brooks Stevens , probably was behind this concept. It was built on a standard FC-150 platform with little mechanical change. Some think that 3 were produced, but I have no idea if any still exist or evenm made it back to America.  Despite its modernistic design and apparent passenger carrying qualities, it was never adopted for manufacture.