The Swiss Army was looking for a new pistol and the SIG P210 was too costly to manufacture. The Swiss Army wanted a cheaper semi-automatic handgun, that would still provide excellent functionality and a double-action trigger. SIG, in cooperation with a German arms company, J.P. Sauer & Sohn, developed a new pistol, the Pist 75 (as it was known in the Swiss Army service). The 9mm SIG-Sauer P220, debuted with various new and inventive features. It utilized a single column magazine holding eight 9mm rounds and had a 3.9 in. barrel.