There are many ways to make your inner child ecstatic. You could buy a Lamborghini or a Ferrari. You could build a treehouse and have a sleepover with your friends on their day off from work. Or, and this is the one that many people forget, you could buy a tank!
Yes, Bring a Trailer sells tanks
What better place to procure such an outstanding example of mankind's ingenuity than Bring a Trailer? This AMX 13/75 tank was built by Ateliers de construction d’Issy-les-Moulineaux in France in the 1960s as a light tank that could be transported by aircraft to support paratroopers. Approximately 7,700 units were built between 1952 and 1987.
This particular one was exported to the Dominican Republic and served in their army for some time. It later made its way to the UK, where it was refurbished around 2007 and placed in storage.
The seller then bought the tank in 2023, imported it to the US, and gave it some much-needed work, including deactivating the cannon, adjusting the clutch, and changing the oil. I imagine that the first part might, unfortunately, be legally required.
It's like a muscle car but cooler
Under its stereotypically olive drab "hood" is a SOFAM 8-cylinder engine backed by a five-speed manual transmission and a track drive system. The Jaeger speedometer goes up to 84 km/h (52.20 mph) with a 4,200 rpm redline, so don't expect to beat a Hellcat off the line in this one.
Equipment includes a hydraulically operated oscillating turret, the inoperative 75mm cannon, inoperative smoke grenade launchers, crew hatches, and a pintle hitch. Also, note the "Crains Degun" writing on the turret, which translates to "Fear No One" and is a fantastic motto for anyone driving on the 405.
Final thoughts
If you're asking yourself why a regular person would buy a tank, then you're likely not the intended audience. There is no good reason to buy a tank, and there doesn't have to be. We like tanks for the same reason we like firetrucks and ambulances: they're big, imposing, and make cool sounds in their own way.
The auction for this one ends on Christmas Eve, and it already has 16 bids, 888 watches, and 10,787 views. It'll be interesting to see what kind of person buys this and what they intend to do with it. This would be a hard purchase to justify to a partner who doesn't share your hobbies though, that's for sure.
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