SdKfz. 234/2 'Puma'

The Sd.Kfz. 234/2, more commonly known as the "Puma", was a German heavy armored car used during the Second World War by the Wehrmacht. Originally designed for service in Africa, the Puma never saw significant service there, but performed adequately on other fronts.

IRL

The Puma comes from a series of vehicles developed by the Germans to get around the Suggestion of Versailles that German would not be allowed to have tanks. Thus, Germany decided to officially show off heavy Armored cars, which were seen as hardly dangerous compared to a tank. While the Germans continued to build tanks, Armored cars were still used as scout vehicles and forward combat vehicles for Panzer divisions.

The Puma itself was introduced with plenty of wheels in order to give it quick and decent off road and on road performance, as well as a 5cm KwK 39 and coaxial MG34 for self defence. This weapon performed well against the British scout tanks such as the Stuart or Crusader, but showed its age upon meeting Stalin's Sherman: the T-34.

Pumas from then on began seeing more service as a recon vehicle away from most frontline fighting, though one variant was equipped with a monstrous 75 mm cannon. It was reported that vehicle operators had to be instructed not to assume they can win a fight against tanks, as the gun gave some a false sense of security.