Engine Porn
Published 19 Jan 2015Light, agile and very fast on all types of terrain, the fabulous Scimitar FV107 armoured reconnaissance vehicle was developed by car manufacturer Alvis, who were asked to build a fast military vehicle that was light enough to be airdropped — simply not an option for full sized battle tanks at the time, which averaged around 13 tonnes. [NR: I think they mean “light tanks” here, as MBTs of the era would have been more like 50+ tons.]
Alvis got the weight down to under 8 tonnes by using a new type of aluminium alloy and minimising armour rating in favour of speed. They built the Scimitar around a 220 horsepower, six cylinder, 4.2 litre Jaguar sports car engine with ground-breaking transmission that allowed differential power to each set of tracks. The result was a sports car of the the military world that might not be the toughest in the field, but could race its way out of trouble at speeds of up to 70 miles an hour.
What makes it great: A revolutionary armoured vehicle that brought the very best of British sports car performance to the battlefield.
Time Warp: The Scimitar was the only armoured vehicle to be used by the British Army in the Falklands War.
This short film features Chris Barrie taking the Scimitar for a spin.
Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/engineporntv
From the comments:
BlueBaron3x7
1 year ago (edited)
When I was in the Army, someone tried driving the 432 backwards as fast as it went forward and hit a tree, bending the track guards. Lucky for them they managed to get away with it as no NCO’s were about.Bazil Matthews
2 years ago
When we first had these in the 1970s if was faster than most family cars of the time. It use to scare the crap out of people as they, usually 3 at a time, past them on the motorwaysNeil McLeod
2 years ago
Not long after these started showing up in Germany a driver came into the NAAFI saying he had been given a fine from the German Police for speeding on a country road. He never bought another beer that night!
