Original model re-created
The world's original Jeep is coming home.
Jeep and auto enthusiasts will have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the only known re-creation of the Bantam Reconnaissance Car (BRC), the world's original Jeep, at the 5th annual Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival.
For the first time, the pilot is returning to its birthplace in Butler to celebrate its 75th birthday June 12 to 14.
Duncan Rolls of Longview, Texas, will bring his re-creation of the Bantam Reconnaissance Car pilot, the vehicle on which all Jeep models were based, to the festival. The vehicle will be featured in the Jeep History Exhibit, made possible by Omix-ADA, during the weekend.
During World War II, this vehicle was created to transport soldiers and heavy artillery. The American Bantam Car Co. built and delivered the U.S. Army a prototype to Camp Holabird, Md., in just 49 days.
Countless hours were spent analyzing the 200 photographs of the Bantam Reconnaissance Car 60 (BRC 60). It took Rolls about 3,500 hours and four years to re-create the vehicle.
“I became interested in Jeeps as a boy watching World War II movies; then began restoring World War II Jeeps for fun,” said Rolls.
“I eventually became interested in the origin of the Jeep. Thirty years later, I decided to re-create the Bantam Reconnaissance Car after much research and what I thought was a reasonable budget.”
During the festival, Rolls will be available to talk to visitors about his re-creation and will give a presentation at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and at 1 p.m. Sunday.
He will explain how he recreated the pilot and the similarities and differences from the BRC 60 and BRC 40 models.
Rolls and the BRC will lead the festival parade on Friday.
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