Bantam did not have the production capacity or financial resources to deliver on the scale needed by the War Department, the other two bidders, Ford and Willys, were encouraged to complete their own pilot models for testing. The contract for the new reconnaissance car was to be determined by trials. While American Bantam's prototype underwent testing at Camp Holabird from 27 September to 16 October, Ford and Willys technical representatives were invited and given ample opportunity to observe the vehicle and study its performance. To expedite Ford and Willys' production, the War Department forwarded the American Bantam blueprints to them, claiming the government owned all designs in the proposals submitted to it in the bidding contest. American Bantam chose not to dispute this. By November 1940, Ford and Willys each submitted prototypes to compete with the American Bantam in the Army's trials while American Bantam had already kicked off mass production of their second-generation Mark II, also known as the . The Willys "Quad" and the Ford "Pygmy" prototype models were similar to the American Bantam Pilot and were joined in testing by American Bantam's BRC-60. By then the U.S. armed forces were in such haste, and allies like Britain, France, and USSR were trying to acquire these new "Blitz-Buggies", that all three cars were declared acceptable and orders for 1,500 units per company were given for field testing and export. At this time it was acknowledged the original weight limit (which even the American Bantam BRC-60 could not meet) was unrealistic, and it was raised to . On 22 January 1941, the Quartermaster Corps Technical Committee advised standardization of the jeeps across all manufacturers. For early production runs, each vehicle received revisions and a new name. American Bantam's became the Production began on 31 March 1941, with a total of 2,605 built up to 6 December — the number ordered was raised because Britain and the USSR already wanted more of them supplied under Lend-Lease. The American Bantam BRC-40 was the lightest and most nimble of the three early production models, and the Army lauded its good suspension, brakes, and high fuel economy. However, as the company could not meet the Army's demand for 75 vehicles a day, production contracts were also awarded to Willys and Ford. Ford's early production jeep went into production as the "GP", with "G" indicating a "Government" contract, and "P" chosen by Ford to