Trumpeter 00387 Italian Armoured Car B1 Centauro Late Version

The B1 Centauro is a contemporary family of Italian eight-wheeled armored vehicles for various purposes. The first prototypes of this family's vehicles were built in the mid-1980s, and serial production continued in 1991-2006, with the production of approximately 740 vehicles from this family. The B1 Centauro cars are powered by single engines IVECO with 520 HP . The armament of the vehicles differs from the version and may consist, for example, of a single 105mm OTO-Melara L / 52 gun or two 7.62mm machine guns.

The car family B1 Centauro was developed at the request of the Italian army by a consortium of IVECO-Fiat and OTO-Melara. The aim of the project was to create a highly mobile tank destroyer armed with a 105mm gun, the same as the one on the Leopard 1 tank. The B1 Centauro, i.e. the tank destroyer, has great off-road mobility, is highly maneuverable and has modern electronic equipment and an effective fire control system (SKO). The car is protected by steel armor, which provides protection against small caliber bullets (up to 14.5 mm), and at the front of the car - against fire from weapons with a caliber of up to 25 mm. Based on the B1 Centauro, other cars were also created for the needs of the Italian army. These include: VBM Freccia (infantry fighting vehicle), Centauro 155/39 LW (self-propelled howitzer) or Centauro VBM Recovery (technical support vehicle). Apart from Italy, Jordan, Oman and Spain are the operators of B1 Centauro vehicles.