VBL: I would trade this for the VX

[wekilled]

Several of you commented on military vehicle pic I took at Camp Bondsteel and posted in my gallery.

It is called a VBL manuf-Panhard (France 1990) : Its a 4 ton class 4x4 armored vehicle , offered in various configurations including infantry carrier, scout, intelligence and EW, liaison, security, command, anti-tank and anti-aircraft roles. Over 2,400 are operational or on order with 15 world armies. The vehicle offers high mobility on land, and has full amphibious capability. (several NATO countries use it. I think in this case the Swedes were using it-who also have the cool M90 camo) here are some better pics without me in front of the vehicle --even the rear looks like an angular interpretation of the VX. I have seen the Germans with ones as well. I never saw them in Iraq but they are doing some service with ISAF in Afghanistan with the French.




http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/armor_honda_wek.jpg

http://defense-update.com/products/v/vbl-panhard.htm

[Ebenezr]

I'd love to drive that to work tommorrow. :)

[VXjunky]

has alot of similarities to the VW concept vehicle recently posted on the site....
the amphibious aspect i find real neat

[ZEUS]

Nice! Thanks for the pics and descripto! Very cool!

[Riff Raff]

The VBL is just bad-@ss from every angle!!! I too love the fact that it is fully amphibious and the rear picture in your gallery showing the rear-mounted single-screw propellor!!! Truly an awesome, go frickin' anywhere vehicle and bullet-proof too. I can totally see the USMC buying a bunch of the VBL's and mounting some very wicked armament weapons on top. Maybe the original manufacturer will put a subsidary plant here in the USA to build them, or sub-contract them out to an approved US defense contractor. Way cool and thanx for sharing!!!

:bgwb:

[WormGod]

I have been seeing truckloads of these (or something VERY similar) on my morning commute almost every day for about 4-5 months now. Pretty stripped down, no doors or accessories. All coming into/through DC. I would assume the military put a ton of orders in for the Oshkosh M-ATVs. *shrug*

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/12/2009/10/500x_OshKosh_M-ATV.jpg

[wekilled]

That's a strange one compared to most of the MRAP vehicles I've worked around. It looks as though the cab is up-armored, but the rest of the vehicle isn't. Sort of like the cab on the LMTV.

[LittleBeast]

http://www.panhardvbl.co.nr/

check out the 3D model kinda cool :-)

http://personal.inet.fi/private/panhard.vbl/images/3d_01.jpg

http://personal.inet.fi/private/panhard.vbl/images/un2_01.jpg

[wekilled]

If I ever found one of these at an affordable (yeah RIGHT) price I would scoop it up in a heartbeat. I really like the hubs on the 3D model which is either updated model, or just fictional add-ons. Looks like something out of District 9.

I would either paint it satin black or some sort of subdued urban angular camo. Sort of a mini-version of the Knight XV.

The website you showed had some pretty cool configurations.

[VXjunky]

it would have to be painted like a proton ...duh........................pretty sweet little buggy

[VXjunky]

was that the panhard homepage i was directed to????...holy crap are they "French" made?......eek?...........perfect escape vehicle
i think theyre mod kits that allow you to take a Citroen, a La Car, and a Fiat X19 and volia "Panhard"

[wekilled]

i think theyre mod kits that allow you to take a Citroen, a La Car, and a Fiat X19 and volia "Panhard"

I missed that on the website. Do you have a link to the mod kits?