IAME Rastrojero

Having an ex-Benito Mussolini military attaché and Nazi sympathizer Juan Perón in charge of the country across three distinct terms was a mixed bag for Argentina, to say the least.

That doesn't, however, change the fact his government reallocated resources, greased palms, and did deals to ensure Industrias Aeronáuticas y Mecánicas del Estado (IAME) would be producing vehicles that helped build a more modern country—including workhorses that would long outlive the still-controversial former president.

At first glance, this farm truck may look like a knockoff Dodge or the living embodiment of Grand Theft Auto's Bravado Rat-Loader, but it is indeed a unique vehicle with a truly unbreakable character.

Curious about its badass name? Modern trucks go so bro-hard by evoking beastly creatures, yawn, but the 1950s were a different time: Rastrojo is the leftover waste stalk "stubble" that litters farm fields after crops are harvested. Rastrojo > Rastrojero. Metal.

Hey, Ford—it's not too late to fix the upcoming Fathom's highly inauthentic, weak, needlessly whimsical name. May I suggest Husk, Root or Stump?

More metal: IAME managed to construct and sell the first batch of more than 2,000 trucks with parts lying around.

The truck's lead team, engineer Raúl Gómez, Félix Santiago Sanguinetti, and brigadier Juan Ignacio San Martín wouldn't have had an engine but for a small supply of U.S.-made Empire Tractors that had ended up in Argentina years prior thanks to some state-to-state bartering.

After raiding a storage shed or two, IAME had its engine supply!

Empire Tractors themselves were made from Willys Jeep leftovers, including 2.2-litre 4-cylinder engine, transmission and axles. Reportedly, as many as 2,365 engines were available and once those were used up, production switched over to a diesel that really got Argentina working.