Bantam BRC-40 ▽△

After the historic delivery of the BRC pilot model in September 1940 the Army put the amazing new vehicle through rigorous testing which the intrepid new weapon in the military's arsenal officially passed on October 18, 1940. The testing revealed areas of improvement that Bantam incorporated into the sixty-nine they built per their original contract giving this new version the moniker BRC-60.

Upon learning that competition existed in the ¼-ton 4 X 4 arena Bantam worked tirelessly, without success, to protect their position against their rivals Willys-Overland Motors, Inc. and Ford Motor Company. As the procurement moved forward in the latter part of 1940 Bantam secured a contract to build 1,500 additional BRCs, but Willys and Ford also succeeded in obtaining contracts for 1,500 vehicles. Sometime between the delivery of the BRC pilot model in September and the end of 1940 the moniker "Jeep" became synonymous with all three ¼-ton 4 X 4 entrants.

The Army continued to modify the specifications for the Jeep during the end of 1940 and into 1941 including a new body drawing released on October 26, 1940. By the time Bantam began production on their 1,500 the square front of the Pygmy had been declared the standard and their rounded hood regulated to history. The intrepid innovators of Butler produced their 1,500 and labeled this version the BRC-40. Some of these vehicles entered field testing in the United States; however, a large number ended up overseas through the Lend Lease program (primarily the Soviet Union and Great Britain) marking the first Jeeps to see action in the war.

Willys MA ▽△

After the Quad officially failed the Army's grueling testing in January 1941 the firm still convinced the military to allow them to keep their 1,500 order. However, the Army insisted that Willys submit another pilot model that met the strict 2,160 pound weight requirement and included the numerous enhancements and changes that resulted from the testing of the BRC pilot model, Quad and Pygmy.

While the Army recommended eliminating Willys' powerful Go-Devil engine to reduce weight, the innovative team at Willys refused to do so, and with painstaking determination and ingenuity lowered the vehicles weight to barely below the limit while incorporating the other changes. The new version, christened the MA (M for military, A for first model) would prove a formidable competitor to their Bantam and Ford rivals.

With the war expanding rapidly in the summer of 1941 the Army decided it had three worthy competitors in the Jeep arena. In July 1941 the Quartermaster Corps. gave the three a Request for Proposal (RFP) for 16,000 vehicles, winner take all, that would become the standard for the Jeep for the duration of the war. In August 1941 the contract went to Willys-Overland Motors, Inc. After the contract award the Army required even more changes to the MA and Willys christened this version the MB, a vehicle which went on to help win World War II.

Ford GP ▽△

Bantam and Willys through the remainder of 1940 and into early 1941 as the number of vehicles needed grew exponentially and made competing economically viable. Ford secured a contract for 1,500 vehicles in the fall of 1940 and began building their allotment on acceptance of the Pygmy in January 1941. Ford renamed their version of the Jeep to Ford GP during 1941.

While having created a solid competitor Willys won the initial large contract for the Jeep in July 1941. However, by the fall of that year the Army knew Willys alone could not handle the volume needed and wanted a second supplier to guard against delivery disruption due to sabotage or some other malady. Working with both firms, an arrangement emerged where Ford would build Jeeps based upon the Willys MB. The Dearborn firm eventually built 277,000 vehicles for the war effort under the Ford GPW moniker with the W added to designate the Willys design.