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Already in August 1940, an order for the development of a new 8-wheeled armoured car with self supporting armoured hull and a diesel engine was sent to the army ordnance office. Again, Büssing-NAG was chosen as developing company. The new diesel engine should be developed by Tatra. The vehicle was ready for serial production in July 1942 but the engine caused problems. It made too much noise. Serial production of the armoured hulls started in May 1943, although the problems with the engine were not solved. For this reason, serial production of the vehicles delayed until December 1943. The new 8-wheeled armoured car Büssing-NAG type 8-Rad Tp. was a benchmarking vehicle. The international development of armoured cars was heavily influenced by it far beyond the end of World War II.
Like the predecessor model Büssing-NAG type GS, the 8-Rad Tp. had all-wheel drive, all-wheel steering, independent suspension on all wheels and drivers at the front and the rear. The self supporting armoured hull, the large tyres and the diesel engine were new features. From the outset, the frontal armour was 30 mm thick. The large tyres allowed a large clearance of 35 cm contrary to the 27 cm of the type GS. The range could be increased substantially – up to 900 km. The maximum speed was around 90 km/h. All in all, the vehicles of the 8-Rad Tp. series appeared more powerful and well-engineered.
As the first variant, the schwere Panzerspähwagen (5 cm) (Sd. Kfz. 234/2) - heavy armoured car (5 cm) - armed with a 5 cm KwK 39/1 and one MG 42 was made in 101 exemplars from September 1943 to September 1944. The schwere Panzerspähwagen (2 cm) (Sd. Kfz. 234/1) armed with a 2 cm KwK 38 and one MG 42 mounted in a Hängelafette 38 was made from June 1944 to March 1945 in about 200 Exemplars. As a supporting vehicle, 88 exemplars of the schwere Panzerspähwagen (7,5 cm) (Sd. Kfz. 234/3) were manufactured from June 1944 to December 1944. It was armed with a 7,5 cm K 51 L/24 and one MG 42. In December 1944, production of the 8-wheeled armoured cars were shifted to the schwere Panzerspähwagen (7,5 cm Pak 40) (Sd. Kfz. 234/4) armed with a 7,5 cm Pak 40. 25 vehicles were made in December 1944, followed by 3 in January 1945, 26 in February and about 17 in March. As single exemplars, one Sd. Kfz. 234/2 equipped with a turret of a Panzer II Ausf. L and a Sd. Kfz. 234/3 converted with a 2 cm Schwebelafette 38 became known. Most probably, they were troop conversions. All in total, about 460 vehicles of the schwere Panzerspähwagen Ausf. Tp. (Sd. Kfz. 234) were made. Other data of about 1,000 or 2,300 produced vehicles are pure fantasy!
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