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Bantam Pilot Reconnaissance Car Recreation Looks Spot On

The 1/4-ton 4x4 off-road vehicle we now refer to as “Jeep” may have started life in 1941 as the Willys MB, but its conception dates back to 1940. The US Army Jeep's history starts with the American Bantam Car Company, a former outfit based in a placed called Butler, Pennsylvania.
Bantam Pilot Reconnaissance Car Recreation 1 photo
Photo: Kim Rolls via bantamjeepfestival.com
Willys-Overland and FoMoCo are credited for making the Jeep happen, but most of what the Willys MB is all about comes from the Bantam Pilot Reconnaissance Car. Back then, the Bantam Car Company was hungry for business and the military wanted a lightweight vehicle able to withstand the rough terrain and conditions on the front lines of World War II.

The US Army wanted that dependable machine to happen ASAP

Here’s a fun fact: in addition to the fact that Bantam narrowly won the Army’s design competition, the company delivered a working prototype in 49 days. You heard that right - from a mere sketch to complete prototype, Bantam made this happen in 49 days.

Well, not exactly the one you see in the photo above. That’s an extremely well detailed Bantam Pilot Reconnaissance Car recreation made by Texas resident and all-things-Jeep aficionado Duncan Rolls. “I decided to re-create the Bantam Reconnaissance Car after much research and what I thought was a reasonable budget. While it only took the American Bantam Car Company 49 days (approximately 1,200 hours) to produce their Jeep, it took me 3,500 hours of my spare time over four years,” he said.

Duncan’s Pilot has been accompanied by twelve other super rare Jeep vehicles from the 1940s at the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival on February 27th, 2015, the date when the original Bantam Pilot celebrated its 75th birthday. Regarding the original Bantam Pilot, it was delivered to the US Army at Camp Holabird, MD on September 23rd, 1940, but it was unfortunately scrapped after testing.

Thankfully, Duncan Rolls’ recreation featured in the video below shares 60 percent of its bits and bobs with the original Bantam BRC prototypes. Duncan started making his pride and joy from a stock Bantam cowl. The chassis and body are handmade, while drive components are original Bantam and Continental parts.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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