In 1966, the Brougham Era was already affecting SUVs, and International decided to get a little piece of the action. The Scout Sportop (how do you pronounce that: Spore-top, or Sport-op?) got a rakish fiberglass cap, and according to International, that made it “The best dressed all-wheel drive car on the road”.
Just one problem: the 1966 Jeep Super Wagoneer.
There’s no comparison between these two. The base Wagoneer was a more civilized all-wheel drive than the gnarly Scout to start with, and the Super upped the ante very considerably, with a standard 270 hp V8 compared to the Scout’s rough four, a completely new interior, full power accessories standard, including a/c. It was in a completely different league.
The Scout Sportop was not exactly a hit or harbinger of the new class of luxury SUV’s; they were very rare and soon dropped.
It’s crazy how modern the Jeep seems for a 1966 car. I guess building it into the modern era, along with their popularity keeping them on the road is a testament to how ahead of its time it was.
The Country Squire may have been king, but that royal line no longer gets the royal treatment the Jeep does…..
The Wagoneer is a Brooks Stevens design, like the 1963-64 Studebaker wagon that it closely resembles. There was a nice modern elegance about his work. The Scopt is more comparable to the Jeepster Commando.
And, by the way, I would pronounce it “Sport Top.”
Scout. No edit function anymore?
The edit function comes and goes for reasons that aren’t clear.
Depends which quarter the wind’s in, I think.
Then International Harvester came out later with the Scout Aristocrat aka “The Gentleman’s Scout”. Although no A/C, it did have an available V8 and automatic.
My uncle and his friends (who all had Scouts!) never conceived owning such nicely trimmed 4WD’s. They wanted something to haul wet Labrador Retrievers and hip waiters, and assorted hunting and fishing gear in and considered these overpriced nonsense. They all had nice cars for going out on the town or traveling. I guess fancy 4WD’s were just ahead of their time then.
I have seen literally 1 Scout with the Sportop. A neighbor to my grandparents at their lake cottage had one. The one thing that bothered me about them was it looked like the top was too short. It didn’t match up with the tailgate.
There were hip waiters back in the day? I thought that was a more recent thing 😉
IFS stopped being offered on 4WD Wagoneers in 1965. https://www.motortrend.com/features/1502-1963-jeep-wagoneer-custom-backward-glances/
I also cannot say I have seen any of these in the flesh… tin … or ‘glass. The Jeep’s were always cool and rough. Somehow to my eye the Bronco nailed the square cool look a bit better. Also a hardtop? I get it. Perfect for dropping the top but the hardtop, 4×4 jeep and the roof lines of a continental just somehow seem to collide
Only one real difference in this market, we did get Scouts from Australia but Jeeps were non existent, if you wanted a rugged 4×4 her in the 60s you had the choice of Austin Gipsy or Landrover from BMC, Scout, or you could wait for the Toyota Landcruiser to appear.
I learned driving in a Gipsy including going sideways at too fast on gravel, off road in all kinds of conditions so have a soft spot for them.
It’s a strange looking thing. Makes you wonder who they thought was going to buy one.
People looking at the Jeepster Commando, is my guess.
And they were sooooo popular! 🙂
A proper gentleman would look away as the lady in heels and a skirt made an attempt to dismount. I can’t image her pulling it off gracefully.
I can’t imagine her even agreeing to sit in that thing!
I actually had one. The roof was kinda cool, and different. Still had the full wheel covers and everything, but I don’t think you could call it well equipped.
I’m a huge fan of IHs, but am still feeling bad for that classy lady who somehow ended-up in one at a strip motel.
My best friend has a Sport Top— well, the bottom half of it, anyway. He bought it restored without the top or specialty items they came with (the rear bumper, several chrome trim pieces, any of the interior parts). It’s got a 196 4-cylinder and a non-synchro manual transmission. We call it Slowflake (it’s white). When he wanted to put a larger roll cage in it, he had to cut through both of the Sport Top-specific mounts on the back that the corners of the top bolted into. It also came with manual steering; he retrofitted electric steering assist from a Prius.
I can’t imagine how IH thought they could fight that fancy Jeep with a manual 4-cylinder Scout.