Michael Young and Moke International
MOKE International is delighted to announce a special edition that returns one of the world’s best loved automotive icons to the foundations of its creation.
The military MOKE specification evokes the original brief to design legend Sir Alec Issigonis to create a vehicle robust enough to be thrown from an aeroplane for behind enemy-lines operations and later redesigned by Michael Young
From these very functional origins, MOKE quickly captured the imagination of a glamorous global set from St Tropez to Malibu. The Beatles, the Beach Boys and even Brigitte Bardot were all enchanted by the car’s sense of open-top fun and freedom and it soon became the ultimate beach-house to water-front shuttle.
In 2020 MOKE International revived the brand and has since introduced new fun-seekers to the open-top thrill of the MOKE experience across the UK’s most popular coastal hot-spots. Now customers will be able to acquire three distinct evocations of the marque’s military origins. From today MOKE customers will be able to order Military Specification cars in Army Green, Air Force Blue and a striking Special Ops Black.
This edition comes as standard with colour matched wheels, tactical front light and military themed design features. A new visual treatment to the vehicle’s roll bars and canvas further evoke the utilitarian and tactical origins of the original design brief to Issigonis.
The MOKE Military Edition will make its global public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex, England on Thursday 8th July 2021 and will be on display throughout the weekend.
Before he established his legend as the design of the Mini, Sir Alec Issigonis conceived several military vehicles, in particular during World War II. At the end of the 1950s when the British Army sought a suitable lightweight, air-transportable utility vehicle, a brief was sent to this most celebrated designer. His response was a vehicle codenamed “Buckboard”, built by the British Motor Corporation.
The vehicle was presented to the Queen’s troops in 1959. Though the first prototype was rejected due to its low ground clearance, the Royal Navy found suitable use on the decks of aircraft carriers – perhaps a fitting prelude to a later life spent lighting up some of the most beautiful and glamorous coastal resorts in the world.
The MOKE’s brand of personality, open-air thrills and utilitarian design soon found the favour of the 60s glamour set at leisure and remains to this day a globally recognised and loved automotive icon.
