page_title: Willys MB
section_title: Development start – Bantam Reconnaissance Car
hierarchical_section_title: Willys MB / History / Development start – Bantam Reconnaissance Car
caption_attribution_description: Bantam Reconaissance Car #1007 (BRC 60), nicknamed "Gramps", made by American Bantam Car Company, 1940. Exhibit in the Senator John Heinz History Center, 1212 Smallman Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. There were no restrictions on photography in the museum collections.
context_page_description: The Willys MB and the Ford GPW, both formally called the U.S. Army Truck, ​¹⁄₄-ton, 4×4, Command Reconnaissance, commonly known as Jeep or jeep, and sometimes referred to as G503, were highly successful off-road capable, light, military utility vehicles, built in large numbers to a standardized design, from 1941 to 1945, for the Allied forces in World War II.
  The jeep became the primary light wheeled transport vehicle of the United States Military and its Allies in World War II, as well as the postwar period, with President Eisenhower once calling it, "one of three decisive weapons the U.S. had during WWII." It was also the world's first mass-produced four-wheel drive car, manufactured in six-figure numbers. About 650,000 units were built, constituting a quarter of the total U.S. non-combat motor vehicles produced during the war, and almost two-thirds of the 988,000 light vehicle class produced, together with the Dodge WC series.
context_section_description: In the early 1930s, the Infantry Board at Fort Benning became interested in the British Army's use of the tiny Austin 7 car in a reconnaissance role, and they obtained a car from the American Austin company in Pennsylvania which built them under license. By 1938 American Austin had gone bankrupt and reorganized as American Bantam. They had loaned 3 cars to the Pennsylvania National Guard for trials during summer maneuvers. Bantam officials met with chiefs of Infantry and Cavalry and suggested a contract to further develop a military version of their car. A subcommittee of army officers and civilian engineers was tasked with created detailed specifications for the proposed vehicles. One of the first things they did was visit the Bantam factory and look at their existing compact cars. By the end of June 1940 specifications had been drawn up 
  By now the war was under way in Europe, so the Army's need was urgent and demanding.  Bids were to be received by July 22, a span of just eleven days. Manufacturers were given 49 days to submit their first prototype and 75 days for completion of 70 test vehicles. The Army's Ordnance Technical Committee specifications were equally stringent: the vehicle would be four-wheel drive, have a crew of three on a wheelbase of no more than 75 in (191 cm), later upped to 80 in (203 cm), and track no more than 47 in (119 cm). The diminutive dimensions were similar in size and weight to Bantam's compact truck and roadster models  It was to feature a fold-down windshield, carry a 660 lb (299 kg) payload, and be powered by an engine capable of 85 lb⋅ft (115 N⋅m) of torque. The most daunting demand, however, was an empty weight of no more than 1,300 lb (590 kg).
  Initially, only American Bantam and Willys-Overland entered the competition. Ford joined later. Although Willys was the low bidder, Willys was penalized for requesting more time, and Bantam received the contract, as the only company committing to deliver a pilot model in 49 days and production examples in 75. 
  Bantam's chief engineer, Harold Crist, who had previously worked on the first Duesenberg, and been an engineer at Stutz Motor Company of Indianapolis for 18 years, drafted freelance Detroit designer Karl Probst to collaborate. Probst turned down Bantam initially, but agreed to work without pay after an Army request and began work on July 17, 1940. 
  Probst laid out full design drawings for the Bantam prototype, known as the Bantam Reconnaissance Car, or BRC, in just two days, and worked up a cost estimate the next day. Bantam's bid was submitted, complete with blueprints, on July 22. Bantam was struggling after bankruptcy trying to sell very small cars licensed from the British Austin Motor Company. But their design was able to leverage commercial off-the-shelf components as much as possible. Bantam adapted body stampings from its car line: the hood, cowl, dash, and curvy front fenders. As the Bantam engines only made 22 hp  the engine was chosen to be a 112 cu in (1.8 l) Continental four-cylinder engine making 45 horsepower and 86 lb⋅ft (117 N⋅m) of torque. Custom four-wheel drive train components including the transfer case to send power to front and back axles were provided by Spicer which continues to make Jeep axles as Dana Incorporated. The axles were modified from units from the Studebaker Champion to four-wheel drive, the transmission was from Warner Gear.  
  Using off-the-shelf automotive parts where possible had partly enabled drawing up the blueprints quickly. By working backwards, Probst and Bantam's draftsmen converted what Crist and a few others had put together into drawings. The hand-built prototype was then completed in Butler, Pennsylvania, and driven to the Army vehicle test center at Camp Holabird, Maryland. It was delivered on September 23, 1940. The vehicle met all the Army's criteria except engine torque. The Bantam pilot (later also dubbed the "Blitz Buggy" or "Old Number One") presented Army officials with the first of what eventually evolved into the World War II U.S. military jeep.
caption: The remainder of Bantam's 70 test units, usually called "BRC60", still had a round hood and grille, but square fenders. Shown #7, nicknamed "Gramps", owned by the Smithsonian[36]
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