Some facts from history or where it all started…

Two names we must always remember are Karl Probst and Bantam. Why? Here goes. Way back in early 1940 the US Army was looking for a lightweight 4x4 vehicle for use as a reconnaissance vehicle. The Army of course gave a specification list that had to be met. It had to have a lightweight chassis, four cylinder engine, four wheel drive, high wheel clearance, open sides, carry four men, have grade-climbing capability, have a carrying payload of 600 lbs and weigh no more than 1300lbs.On June 27th 1940 the Ordnance Technical Committee in Washington gave out bids to 135 manufacturers that included GM, Willys, Ford and Bantam. Believe it or not, only two companies put forward proposals. The first specification sheets had to be delivered to the Army by 17th July, so Bantam brought in Karl Probst (an experienced engineer, who had his own company in Detroit) to design their first prototype. By 17th July they had delivered their first bid, but only to find that the Army had changed its mind and was now asking for a more powerful engine—the Bantam only had 20 bhp and the Army now wanted 40. So it was back to the drawing board, but Karl's first problem was not the horse power, but getting axles strong enough and light enough to take the horse power that was required. So he came up with the answer, a Spicier axle was needed and after finding out that they had built one for a 65 bhp Studebaker the problem was solved. By 22nd July Karl had his second set of designs delivered to the Army for a second inspection, but at the same time, so had Willys, Ford and Crosley (who had all had suddenly taken an interest). Although Willys put in a lower bid, the contract for the first prototype was given to Karl Prosbt and Bantam (but they only had 49 days in which to deliver the fully-operational pilot model, which was extended). By 23rd September their pilot model was driven to camp Holabird, Maryland.
The pilot model was driven by Karl and Bantam's factory manager Harold Crist all the way from the Bantam factory to Camp Holabird (some 230 miles) with only half an hour to spare. Once delivered, they would have expected men in white suits to take it away to the laboratory for testing but this was not the case. As soon as it had been given the once over by the soldiers Major Lawes took to the wheel and sped off around   the   proving   grounds. After a short time he returned saying, 'I can usually judge them in fifteen minutes, and this vehicle is going to be outstanding'. Everyone was happy but the Army had one more question before they would let Bantam build 70 more prototypes, and that was 'how much does it weigh? 'The answer was 1840 Ibs, a far cry from the original 1300 Ibs. There was a moment of silence as all Karl could come up with was the pilot model may need more weight, as some     parts     needed     to     be straightened. Just then  a  Cavalry General stepped in and said 'if two men can take it out of a ditch, we need it.' The officer was a big man, over 6 feet tall and weighing around 250lbs. He walked over to the Bantam and single-handily lifted the back end of the vehicle off the ground. Looking at the others, he nodded his approval. With that single, noble act, he had clinched the deal for Bantam and the Jeep was born.
During these first testings representatives from Ford, Chrysler, General Motors and Willys were in the crowd closely watching what was
making notes so that they could form their own ideas based on the Bantam model. The 70 Bantam pilot cars (Jeeps) were built within the allotted time and included eight with four wheel steering. These 70 models (known as Bantam BRC 60 or Mklls) were then put to the test by the US Army. A contract for an additional 1500 Bantams was under discussion, when the decision was made that these additional Bantam BRC 40s, as they are now known, could be built. But some of the other military people wanted to obtain bids from larger companies, which would have the capabilities for mass production. While Willys continued developing its model, Ford was also invited to bid on because the Military felt that Bantam's small factory could not meet the demands expected. This is where Willys had the edge over Bantam, as Willys had once been the second largest auto maker in America (behind Ford). On 13th November 1940 Willys had delivered their Willys Quad prototype model followed by the Ford Pygmy prototype ten days later.

Both prototypes resembled that of the Bantam (I wonder why), and were then tested alongside it. In comparison with the Bantam the Willys and Ford models were both heavier but the Willys was proving to be the best as it had the stronger and more powerful engine (called the Go-Devil), but this model was also the heaviest weighing in at just over 2423 Ibs. All of the vehicles were deemed acceptable so far as performance was concerned, so each company received an order for 1500 additional units. For Ford and Bantam, this was great news as their vehicles had already met the specifications listed by the Army and they both received further orders. Willys, however, still had another hurdle to jump as a new weight limit of 2160 Ibs had been set and the Army told Willys that it was unhappy with the Quad's weight, and that they would not allow more than the 1500 initial models, until the weight came down.
Willys went back to the drawing board; its first idea was to change the engine for something lighter like the Continental used by Bantam. However, this could not be done as the engine was one of the winning factors of the tests. So the chief engineer at Willys, Barney Roos, looked for other ways in which they could make it lighter. In the end they trimmed everything from the length of the bolts, reducing the size of cotter pins, studs, screws and washers. They then worked on the chassis, body panels and finally, they even reduced
the amount of paint used (one coat). Believe it or not, it worked, thus their next prototype 'the Willys MA' was born. However, hot on their tails was Bantam with its BRC 40 and Ford with its Ford GP. By May 1941 all three companies delivered their pre-production Jeeps for testing although Bantam was a little behind as some Jeeps were still in production at its factory.
These     vehicles     were     sent to various military units for some 'real world’ testing. In addition, the Adjutant   ordered   the Quartermaster General to have one of each type sent to the Infantry Board for   formal   testing.   The Infantry   liked   all   three,   though they felt that the only real difference between the Ford and Bantam entries were the engines and the Ford squared off hood. The Willys MA was more unique, partly as a result   of  its   more   powerful engine. The Willys also required a heavier   duty   transmission   to match up with the engine output. In the Infantry tests the Willys proved superior in  most of the performance trials while the much lighter Bantam was rated second. The Ford GP model came last in most areas. The highest top speed on a level road was found to be 74 mph for the Willys, 64mph for the Bantam and 59  mph  for the   Ford.  In   grade-climbing the Willys was first again followed by the Bantam and then Ford. The   Bantam   won  the  fuel economy test, while the Willys came last and Bantam came first in braking too.

All models: WillysMA, FordGP and BantamBRC40

July 1941  the Quartermaster General was calling for production of some  16,000   units  of a   standard design.   In   what   marked   another change in procurement policy, this was to be an all-or-nothing deal - the entire contract would be awarded to only one company. The Quartermaster's preferred contractor was Ford due to the large production capabilities. But this idea was rejected and the contract was opened to competitive bidding. One interesting bid, that has been missed out of most Jeep history books, was when the Checker Cab Company of Kalamazoo, Michigan entered a bid that turned out to be the lowest, but this was not accepted as the company could not commence delivery of the vehicles   on   time.   Of   the   three remaining   companies   the   Willys-Overland company was the lowest bid at only $748.74 per vehicle, while Ford's bid was $782.59 and Bantam's was $788.32. Despite that low bid, however, the Army's recommendation came through to accept the Ford offer. Again, this was done to ensure that the vehicle would be available in a timely manner. It was argued that the Willys company was financially shaky and might not be able to build the vehicles in a timely manner. At this point Bill Knudsen stepped in, refusing to approve the Ford deal. Knudsen stated that in his judgement the Willys concern was a competent source of supply for the number of vehicles in question. Since Knudsen was the most knowledgeable man in the world regarding the mass production of motor vehicles, there was scant room for further discussion. By August 1941 Camp Holabird was notified of the decision to go with Willys for the new military car, with deliveries to begin in November 1941.

So the first order for 16,000 units was given to Willys-Overland to produce the all new standard military Jeep, based on its design, but using a new grill design that looked more likethe Ford design. But when you think about it, all three companies ended up copying things from one another, so was it a Willys design? Please remember that it was Karl Probst and Bantam that came up with the first actual design.