This armored fighting vehicle might look like a tank, but it’s actually a stretch limo.
To be fair, this limousine didn’t start out as a luxurious armored vehicle. It was born as a British-built FV320 armored personnel carrier. Actually, it’s two of them--owner Nick Mead purchased them surplus for a steal and then decided to give himself a little extra legroom by splitting them in half and welding the two together with an extra 5 feet of space.
You can barely see the weld in the armor.
Everything else about “TankLimo”, as it’s called, is completely stock. That means a Rolls-Royce K60 diesel engine with roughly 240 horsepower. Top speed used to be around 44 mph, but the added weight has brought it down to around 35 mph. Which is fine for British roads in small towns, which apparently have a speed limit of around 20 mph.
Nominally, the FV432 is armed with a 7.62 mm heavy machine gun in the turret, but variants were made with all manner of weaponry including cannons, recoilless rifles, and anti-tank missiles. This particular model seems to be armed with a mortar and smoke dispensers, although we’re certain that it has no ammunition in order to be road legal.
TankLimo seats up to 10 people in relative comfort thanks to a rear compartment with fold-down bench seating. That’s a good number for your average prom or funeral, which are TankLimo’s bread and butter these days.
Tank commander/driver Tod Chamberlain explains in the video from Barcroft Cars that TankLimo is actually a pain to maintain. Every time you think something is fixed, something else goes wrong. Mead owns quite a few tanks at his Tanks A Lot driving experience, and many of those are older Russian models like T-54s and T-62s.
Chamberlain says Russian tanks are far easier to maintain. “If you’ve got a hammer, you’re gonna fix it.” Although it wouldn’t be nearly as comfortable, and comfort is something you have to consider when you’re operating a limo service.
You can rent TankLimo for about $2,000 per day anywhere around Northamptonshire, UK. It’ll certainly get attention and definitely show up anyone else heading to prom.