The history of Jeep officially begins in 1941 when Ford and Willys-Overland Jeep vehicles began to manufacture its factories in Ohio, USA But it was in 1938 when it was planned as would be the Jeep. In 1940 the U.S. Army requested U.S. vehicle manufacturers to submit their bids for a small vehicle with traction at all four wheels that could serve for different tasks and missions, with outstanding performance capabilities, stability, autonomy, reliability and maintenance. This call became more urgent when the Axis forces began to gain victories in Europe and North Africa, for which the U.S. military would accept only proposals that could be met within 49 days.
The original specifications of the U.S. government were as follows: maximum weight of 1310 pounds, four-wheel-drive, a wheelbase of less than 2032 mm and a distance between wheels less than 1193 mm, the minimum distance to the floor should be 158 mm and should be sufficiently able to carry 605 lb. weight without overheating the engine to march at low speeds. The two companies that met the call were the American Bantam Car Company and Willys-Overland.Bantam Karl Probst instructed the engineer designing the new vehicle which then became the legendary Jeep. Probst began working on the idea on July 17, 1940 and completed the original plans in just two days. Bantam delivered to the army, with designs on the vehicle on July 22; curiously Bantam stated that the vehicle met the required specifications but actually exceeded the weight limit.
Bantam completed its first prototype made by hand on September 21, 1940, meeting within 49 days. The army put the vehicle several tests on journeys which totaled more than 5,500 km, of which only 400 were paved. They concluded that the vehicle showed great power and met the requirements of the United States Army.
Jeep WillysBarney Roos, owner of Willys-Overland, added a positive comment to the rejected offer Willys saying "it is impossible for any vehicle to be strong with a weight of 1,300 pounds." He explained that the Mayor HJ Lawes, the officer in charge of procurement and contracts camp Holabird and Lawes, and suggested that Willys Overland build its own model to test pilot. It also helped that the army left Ford and Willys "inspect" the model of Bantam, improving both their brand models, which are eventually looking suspiciously at Bantam model.
Due to technical limitations and financial Bantam, the Army gave the Willys-Overland and Ford Company of the original plans Bantam, in order to submit their own prototypes. Willys introduced the "Quad", and Ford introduced the "Pygmy", incorporating amendments to the original design of Bantam was finally weighing 2,030 pounds. The Willys Quad too exceeded the initial weight specified because they wore a better engine which then became known as the famous Devil Go. This proved advantageous for Willys as the permitted weight limit was increased to 2160 lb., bringing the Quad was the only prototype in entirely satisfy the requirements of the army: their crushing 105 lb / ft of torque exceeded the torque applied for and was very exceeding the 83 lb / ft of torque offered by Bantam and 85 lb / ft of torque prototype of Ford.
Taking prototypes of the three companies, the army placed an order for 4,500 vehicles, 1,500 to each of them to try them on the ground. The Roos team began working to lighten the Quad. We completely dismantled and examined each of the pieces to see if there was a possibility of using a material lighter in one of them. When finished, the Jeep exceeded only 7 ounces in weight required.The delivery of 4,500 vehicles began in June 1941 and decided that the army had to choose a design equal for all. Finally, we chose the design Willys (Go-devil engine with mechanical solutions Bantam) with some modifications incorporating features of Ford and Bantam. In July 1941, Willys won a contract for 16,000 vehicles. That same year, the Army Corps stores ordered Willys-Overland to pass their designs to Ford to increase production.
During World War II, Willys-Overland and Ford produced 600,000 Jeeps, Willys produced more than 368,000 small and Bantam only 2,675, most of which was ceded to Great Britain and the Soviet Union as a result of a law regulating the sale and leasing (Bantam production ceased just before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor).
When it created the first Jeep did not exist what is now known as 4x4 segment in the field of utilities. The main clients of the Allied Forces Jeep were trying to impose peace in a world torn apart by the battles of World War II. It was conceived as the substitute for the motorcycle used for carrying messages between different units of the U.S. military, however, only a few of the first Jeep vehicles manufactured until 1945 stayed in the United States. Instead, hundreds of thousands of these vehicles were shipped to Europe, Africa and the Pacific.