Who invented the four-wheel drive?

2020-04-22 10

The Germans may say it was Audi, the Americans claim it was Jeep and the Japanese might point to Subaru as the largest four-wheel drive manufacturer in the world as the inventor of the 4x4. But who came up with the idea of a four-wheel drive for commercial vehicles? Perhaps the origins of the 4x4 lie somewhere else than one might suspect?