Minerva

The Belgian Minerva car company was established in 1899 by Sylvain de Jong, a Dutchman living in Antwerp. De Jong started manufacturing bicycles in 1897 using the name Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, war and crafts. In 1899, he graduated to motorcycles, exhibiting a prototype ‘voiturette’ and a light van at the Antwerp Cycle Show. The company’s first car, a 6hp four-cylinder machine in the Panhard style, appeared in 1902.

Minerva vehicles acquired a reputation for quality and reliability and, by 1914, enjoyed the patronage of the Kings of Belgium, Norway and Sweden. At the outbreak of World War One the Minerva factory began building improvised armoured cars for the Belgian Army. That was until Antwerp was over-run by the Germans on 9 October 1914.

In 1922 the company acquired a factory in Mortsel, a suburb of Antwerp, and in 1924 it started producing commercial vehicles following the acquisition of Auto Traction. After the death of De Jong in 1927 the company went into decline and, in 1934, was forced to restructure. A year later the new company was taken over by Mathieu Van Roggen’s Imperia company. Commercial vehicles continued to be produced up to the outbreak of World War Two but from June 1940, the Mortsel factory was used by the German Erla-Maschinenwerk Gmbh organisation for the repair of military aircraft.

When peace returned Minerva quickly went back to commercial vehicle production, but lacked the resources to design and produce a new motorcar and the Mortsel facility was under-utilised.

In common with the other armies of newly-liberated Europe, Belgium received quantities of war surplus MB/GPW Jeeps, supplementing these with militarised post-war Willys CJ-2A and Universal CJ-3A Jeeps. By the end of the decade the Jeeps were starting to wear out, and the Belgian Army started seeking a replacement. Van Roggen was keen to secure the contract but the company was not in a position to design and build a vehicle from scratch. In early 1951 he secured a licence to build Land Rovers in Belgium and the Rover/Minerva consortium won a contract to supply the Belgian Army with an initial quantity of 2,500 vehicles. Over a period of four years this was increased to 10,000.

Rover agreed to provide technical assistance and to supply CKD (completely knocked-

Above: Although a standard Series 1 in most respects, the side view shows the curious angled front wings which were a distinctive feature of the Minerva. (PW)

Down) kits to Minerva, including the engine, chassis, axles, transmission and the bulkhead pressing. The complete body was sourced locally, as were the lighting equipment, hood, tyres, body fittings, fuel tanks and upholstery. Contemporary Minerva literature stated that 63% of the content was of Belgian origin.

The Minerva TT was initially based on the 80in (2.03m) Series 1 cargo vehicle; after 1954, coinciding with the model change in the UK, the wheelbase was increased to 86in (2.18m). Early models used the standard Land Rover chassis, but later production was said to feature a boxed-in frame manufactured in Belgium and this lacked the power take-off hole in the rear cross-member.

Under the bonnet was the standard l,997cc Rover F-head 58bhp four-cylinder engine, coupled to a four-speed gearbox and two-speed transfer case. The steering mechanism was by Burman and again, aside from being positioned on the left, was unchanged from the UK product.

Left: Minervas often carried ajerrycan on the rear in the style of the World War Two Jeep. (PW)

Above: In-service Minerva showing how the windscreen can be folded to allow the passenger to man the scuttle-mounted machine gun. (BM)

Right: The distinctive Minerva badge. (PW)

Axles, too, were the standard Solihull product, mounting one-piece 16in wheels shod with 6.00x16 cross-country tyres.

The major difference was in the locally-produced body which, although it was still recognisably a Land Rover - differed considerably from the UK model, most notably by being constructed from steel, which brought a weight penalty of more than 1501b (68kg).

In appearance the most obvious change was the rather ungainly slope-fronted wings, which were apparently easier to produce with simple tools than the rounded, pressed wings of the UK original. The radiator grille was narrower and, in place of the familiar‘T’-shaped mesh panel, there was a framed grille with the mesh running at 45° rather than 90°. There were separate pressed-steel slotted panels on either side under the headlamps. At the top of the grille a large cast badge was fitted showing the helmeted head of the goddess Minerva, with the legend ‘Licence Rover’ or the familiar Land Rover oval underneath. The distinctive external corner

Above: Even as late as 1985 some 2,500 Minervas remained in service and many were sold from war reserve stock with very low mileage showing. (PW)

Pieces and capping strips found on the doors and rear bodywork of the UK-built aluminiumbodied Land Rovers remained but, like the earliest UK 80in (2.03m) models, there were no vertical corner trims at the rear.

At the rear, the hinged tailgate was replaced by a fixed panel some two-thirds of the body height, carrying a jerrycan holder and sometimes a spare wheel. Most vehicles were also fitted with a military-type towing jaw. A pigtail-type towing eye was fitted to the front bumper above the chassis member.

Inside, there were two square-backed front seats with a toolbox between them. An additional inward-facing seat was fitted in the rear, on the right-hand wing box, with vertical grab handles attached to the rear panel. Weather equipment included a one-piece top and rear enclosure, with an attached roll-up rear panel glazed with two small transparent panes.

As in the UK, the electrical system was of the standard 12V pattern using two 6V, 120Ah batteries. Sidelights were mounted low-down on the front wings, and there was a single combined rear and brake light, together with a trailer socket fitted to the back panel. Flashing direction indicators were a standard fitting from 1952, being placed alongside the sidelights at the front, and on the bodywork corners at the rear.

From October 1953, with some design changes, the vehicle was also offered on the commercial market as an open cargo vehicle or short-wheelbase station wagon; unlike the military variants both were fitted with a standard tailgate.

The Minerva company went into liquidation in 1958, but it is a testament to Minerva that when replacement with VW litis vehicles started in 1985, a total of 2,492 original vehicles were still in service.