4×4S.ORGTHE REGISTRY NAMED MODEL · 1955–66
NAMED MODELMilitary · FranceFrance

Hotchkiss M201.

The French Army’s licence-built Willys MB: 27,628 built by Hotchkiss at Saint-Denis and Stains from 1955 to 1966, 24-volt from 1961, in service into the 1990s.

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Hotchkiss M201 — Jeep 1962 Hotchkiss M201Rob Mitchell · CC0 ↗
BASE VEHICLEWillys MB / Ford GPWBUILT BYHotchkissIN SERVICE1955–66OPERATED INFrancePRODUCTION27,628LAYOUT4 wheels · 80″

The record

Hotchkiss rebuilt wartime MBs for the French Army from 1947 and took a licence to build new ones as the JH-101 in 1952 and the M201 from 1955. The M201 kept the MB’s body and engine with a 24-volt electrical system from 1961 and a 106 mm recoilless-rifle carrier version. The French Army ran it until the Peugeot P4 replaced it from 1981, and the last were sold off in the 1990s.

Specification

MANUFACTURERHotchkiss ↗
Saint-Denis and Stains, France
MANUFACTURED1955–66
ENGINE2.2-litre Hotchkiss-built Go Devil four, 60 hp
PRODUCTION RUN27,628
COUNTRY OF ORIGINFrance
OPERATED INFrance
STATUSout of production
RECORD KINDNamed model
MODEL LINEWillys MB / Ford GPW
FAMILYWillys MB / Ford GPW
WHEELS4
NOMINAL WHEELBASE80″
CATEGORYMilitary · France

Catalogue fields describe the vehicle's structure and body as this registry records it. They are not certified factory measurements, and no performance figures are published here.

Variants & colours

Base model variants

AI rendering impression

An AI rendering impression starts from a 3D model of this vehicle, which an image model then paints into a scene. It is an artist's impression of the type, made to give a feel for the vehicle in its element — not a photograph, and not a record of any particular vehicle.

Proportions, fittings, markings, colours and the setting can all drift from the original in the process. For the vehicle's actual details, rely on the specification, the photographs and the cited sources on this page.

Sources

  1. 1Hotchkiss M201 ↗Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-22SOURCE
  2. 2Willys MB ↗Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-22SOURCE

Registry record updated 2026-09-22 · status: researched