Bantam BRC-40: How a Small Pennsylvania Firm Built the First Jeep

Bantam BRC-40 at a glance

The 1940 Army tender

By 1940 the US Army wanted a light, four-wheel-drive car for reconnaissance, messengers and light loads. On 27 May 1940 a technical committee approved the basic requirements: all-wheel drive, a wheelbase of 80 inches (2,032 mm), a track of about 47 inches and a maximum weight of 590 kg. The old version of this page listed some of the other targets, such as a height of about 92 cm, a payload of at least 270 kg and a mounting for a light gun.

In July 1940 the War Department sent the tender to 135 American manufacturers. The contract was worth 175,000 US dollars and set brutal deadlines: a prototype in 49 days and 70 vehicles in 75 days. Only two companies answered: American Bantam and Willys-Overland.

Karl Probst and the 49-day prototype

Bantam was a small maker of economy cars, and it badly needed the work. It received the specification on 17 July 1940 and hired Karl Probst, an independent designer from Detroit. Probst arrived in Butler on 18 July and finished the preliminary drawings the next day. Bantam submitted its bid on 22 July and won the tender on 5 August, because it promised the vehicle in 49 days against Willys' 120.

To save time, the team used bought-in parts: Studebaker Champion axles with Spicer joints, a Spicer transfer case and a Continental four-cylinder engine. On 23 September 1940 Bantam drove the prototype 275 km to Camp Holabird in Maryland. It then passed a 30-day endurance test of 5,800 km, and on 27 October it was shown to the armoured forces at Fort Knox.

The prototype weighed 922 kg, far above the 590 kg limit. The designers had planned for about 841 kg from the start and ignored the official limit; the production cars weighed about 950 kg.

From Model 60 to BRC-40

The second version, the Model 60, had squarer front wings, more ground clearance and grilles over the headlamps, as the old version of this page described. The BRC-40 followed as the production version. Its unit price fell from 1,123 US dollars for the first 500 to 938 US dollars. Eight Model 60s had four-wheel steering, and 22 of a later batch of BRC-40s also had all-wheel steering for tests; the idea was not adopted. Production began on 31 March 1941.

The requirement against the real car

By our calculation the production car was about 60 % heavier than the weight the Army had first asked for. The overweight did not stop the project. Willys had the same problem: to create its MA, it had to cut roughly 240 lb, about 110 kg, from the Quad. The old version of this page added a few more items from the 1940 brief, including a top speed target and a payload of at least 270 kg.

Rivals: the Willys Quad and the Ford Pygmy

The Army gave Bantam's drawings to the other makers. Willys delivered its Quad on 11 November 1940, with the same Spicer axles and transfer case but its own stronger engine. Ford introduced the Pygmy on 23 November 1940.

The Army ordered 1,500 of each type for trials. The Willys "Go Devil" engine, with 45 kW (60 hp) gross, was a key reason for its later choice. By our calculation the production Bantam carried about 26 kg per kW. Our power-to-weight calculator explains the ratio.

Why Bantam lost the contract

Bantam could not build the 75 vehicles a day the Army needed. In July 1941 Willys won the contract for a standardised design, the Willys MB. From January 1942 Ford built the same design under licence as the GPW, with the Willys engine, so that parts were interchangeable. Willys built about 363,000 MBs and Ford about 280,000 GPWs, some 640,000 vehicles in total. The old version of this page credited the wartime total to Ford alone; both companies built it.

Bantam got no further vehicle orders. Instead it received an Army order for 10,000 light trailers for the new 4×4s. In 1948 the US Federal Trade Commission ruled that Willys could not claim it had created the Jeep, because the idea came from Bantam. Bantam went out of business soon after, and in 1950 Willys registered "Jeep" as its trademark. That is why every modern Jeep Wrangler carries a name that began at Butler.

Lend-Lease and wartime service

Most BRC-40s went abroad. Britain received 1,001 in 1941 and 150 more in 1943, the latter originally ordered by Yugoslavia. Under Lend-Lease, 531 went to the Soviet Union, 500 of them by the end of 1942. The old page mentioned that Bantams served there in large numbers. A few also reached the Polish army.

The BRC could carry a .50-calibre Browning M2 on a pillar between the front seats. In 1941 the Army tested BRC-40s with a 37 mm gun as tank destroyers; seven T2 and eleven T2E1 conversions were built, but the chassis proved too light and the gun was removed.

Verdict: the BRC-40 for collectors today

Surviving BRC-40s are rare collector items, much rarer than Willys MBs and Ford GPWs. In 2015 the Pennsylvania legislature recognised Bantam's role in a resolution. For a collector, a BRC-40 means a far smaller supply of spare parts than for the Willys MB. In return, it is the car that started the story. More vehicles of the period are in our 1940s classics section, and the rest of the brand's history is in our history of Jeep.

How the BRC-40 compares with the Willys MB

The table shows why the Army chose the Willys: more power and a maker able to build in volume. The car comparison tool has more classic off-roaders, and our 4×4 section lists modern successors.