History of the Moke

After production under Austin Rover Portugal ceased in July 1989, Rover put the whole operation on the market, inviting bids for manufacture of the car under licence.

The presses and jigs were shipped from Australia and in July 1983 production started at a recently decommissioned British Leyland assembly plant in Portugal

Assembly of the Moke began in Australia in February 1966 at the Sydney plant in Zetland and initially the design was almost identical to the English Moke.

With no interest from the military, in 1963 BMC decided to develop a version for the civilian market using the original 80 inch wheelbase version.

In the late 1950s the British Army were looking for a lightweight and air portable runabout. It was clear that the compact and self contained engine / transmission unit of the Mini would be ideal for such specialist uses.