Here's How Quick The World's Fastest Tank Really Is

In the late 15th century, Leonardo Da Vinci offered his services as a military engineer to Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan. To impress the duke, Da Vinci designed an armored fighting vehicle. The design featured a circular platform covered by a large shell, with slanting angles to deflect enemy fire. Da Vinci's four-wheel vehicle was also equipped with gun ports and could move in any direction. As innovative as it was then, it was never built or used in military conflict.

Today, some consider Da Vinci to be the inventor of the tank. While that is debatable, it is a fact that the revered polymath's armored vehicle can be considered a key precursor to what we today refer to as a tank. Tanks, first used in combat during the First World War, have undergone significant advancements and remain an indispensable component of modern warfare. If you're interested in military affairs, you probably know something about the world's best tanks, but do you know which tank is the fastest?

The nature of warfare changed with the advent of nuclear weapons, but the need for lightweight, agile, and air-transportable military vehicles persisted. In the United Kingdom, this led to the development of the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) family of vehicles, of which the FV101 Scorpion is a part.

Developed in the late 1960s by Alvis Vehicles Ltd (now BAE Systems) and delivered to the British Army in 1973, the FV101 Scorpion had its combat debut during the Falklands War in 1982. The FV101 Scorpion was also used by the British Army during the 1991 Gulf War but was retired three years later. However, it continued to serve in several armies for at least another decade.

The FV101 Scorpion is still talked about as an iconic light tank not just because of its historical significance but also because of its speed. In fact, it still holds the Guinness world record for fastest production tank, as it can reach a maximum speed of 51 mph.

Military technology has advanced so rapidly that it's difficult to believe a Cold War-era tank like the FV101 Scorpion still holds the world record. Yet, it does. In comparison, the South Korean beast K2 Black Panther has a top speed of 43 miles per hour. Meanwhile, the M1 Abrams can reach a maximum speed of 42 miles per hour.

What about the T-14 Armata, Russia's next-generation battle tank? The T-14 Armata first attracted the attention of Western media in 2015 when it was showcased during a military parade in Moscow. The Kremlin reportedly planned on starting large-scale production by 2025, but it appears that only a few dozen tanks have been produced thus far.

In some places on the web, the T-14 Armata is hailed as one of the fastest tanks in the world. In a 2023 Reuters report related to the war in Ukraine, for example, it is said that the T-14 Armata can reach a maximum speed of 50 mph. The source of this claim is RIA Novosti, the Russian state-owned domestic news agency. Even if that were indeed true, the FV101 Scorpion would still come out on top, with its demonstrated maximum speed of 51 mph.