In December 1950 the Army made blueprints for a heavy tank reference design.[4] In January 1951 the Army awarded Chrysler a $99 million contract to produce the tank.[5] Chrysler tasked Robert T. Keller, the son of Chrysler Board Chairman K.T. Keller, with overseeing the design of the tank and construction of the Newark tank plant that would be used to produce it.[4]