The UMM 4x4 design is derived from a prototype created by the French engineering firm Cournil, called Entrepreneur. The Cournil Entrepreneur's building rights were acquired by the Portuguese company União Metalo-Mecânica, part of the Mocar group and were renamed as UMM.
They became known for their reliability, especially when in a Paris-Dakar rally the team was able to finish with all the cars that started. Many UMMs are still in use by utilities in Spain, Portugal and France and also by the "Guarda Nacional Republicana" (Portuguese Gendarmerie), fire service and military, although the majority of their customers were private individuals. Around 700 UMMs are still in service in the Republic of the Congo (Zaire). They are also popular in France and Angola.
UMM stopped building the UMM Alter II for private customers in 1994, but kept on taking large orders from military and utility services until 1996. Custom orders are no longer accepted. It is suspected that more than 10.000 UMMs were made.
The most famous UMM is probably the one who transported Pope John Paul II in one of his visits to Portugal...
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UMM_(Uni%C3%A3o_Metalo-Mec%C3%A2nica)
UMM photos
