Jeep turns 75 years old today, and its birthday promises to be a lot more upbeat than, say, Plymouth’s.

The storied brand, which started life producing a hastily built battlefield runabout, is now a sales juggernaut for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, which could be its reward for suffering through so many ownership changes over the years. To mark the special occasion, FCA built a one-off Wrangler that takes the brand back to its roots.

You can’t buy it, but you can remove the doors and fold down the windshield on your own Wrangler, head to a nearby field, paint some signs in German and pretend it’s two weeks ’till V-E Day.

Called the Wrangler 75th Salute, the concept was released on the same day the Willys-Overland Motor Company received its military contract for the Model MB back in 1941. The model was soon referred to as a “jeep,” and the company registered the name after the war for use on civilian models.

The concept sheds the Wrangler’s doors and B-pillar and adopts an olive drab paint scheme. A flat front bumper with tow hooks, steel wheels with non-directional rubber, and low-back canvas seats complete the military makeover. You can look, but you can’t own.

The original crop of military vehicles were based on a concept created over the course of two days by the American Bantam Car Company, maker of tiny, cheap passenger vehicles. It was obvious the U.S. would soon find itself overseas, fighting various mustachioed dictators, and the U.S. Army needed a jack-of-all-trades, go-anywhere vehicle. A lot of them. (Meaning: cheap and easy to make, with no creature comforts.)

Contracts went to Willys-Overland and Ford Motor Company, with Willys specifically chosen for its 2.2-liter “Go Devil” four-cylinder engine. That mill, seen by the Army as perfect for the vehicle, made 60 horsepower and 105 pounds-feet of torque. Willys models came with the now-famous seven-slot grill, while Ford’s version had nine slots. In total, 640,000 units were produced during the war.

Since then, Jeep has lived under the roof of nine different corporate parents. (Ten, if you count Renault’s short-lived hand in AMC.) It is the ultimate survivor.

Some of FCA’s brands are struggling, but Jeep’s skyrocketing sales numbers and growing global presence are keeping company executives comfortable and well-fed. Is it any wonder they want to tearfully salute this brand?

[Images: FCA US; Wikipedia]