1940 Bantam Field Car 'Old Number One'
1940 Bantam Field Car in The History of Jeep: The Definitive Story, Documentary, 2004
Class: Cars, Proto / Concept — Model origin: 
![[*]](/res/star.png){kind=small}
Minor action vehicle or used in only a short scene
Comments about this vehicle
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◊ 2011-02-14 11:50 |
This photo is not the Willys prototype, but the revolutionary origin of the \"jeep\" family, The American Bantam \'Field Car\'. The photo was taken outside the factory at Butler, Pennsylvania in mid September 1940, just after completion. It had taken 5 days to design it and 49 days to build it. (The designer, Karl K. Probst is standing to the rear of the vehicle, leaning against the spare wheel. The driver is harold Crist, the Bantam factory manager). It was then driven straight to Camp Holabird, Maryland, for extensive testing. Bantam was considered to be too small a company to build it (they only built 2675 of them) and two other later contenders, Willys and Ford, having seen the Bantam prototype, then developed the concept further and the result was then standardised on the Willys model. Willys and Ford were then chosen, from December 1940, to build the vast quantities required and Bantam was contracted to build the jeep 1/4 ton amphibious trailer. |
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◊ 2011-02-14 15:36 |
Confirmed. http://www.olive-drab.com/od_mvg_www_jeeps_bantam.php3 Many ACME photos of Bantam testing: http://42fordgpw.wordpress.com/2008/09/ (Scroll down to mid) Which name is correct? "Field Car" or "GPV" or "BRC-60"? |
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◊ 2011-02-14 16:58 |
Yes, this is "Old Number One", the Bantam Pilot. The BRC 60 & later the BRC 40 both had square fenders rather than the cycle fenders of the prototype. |
