The first Finnish attempt at an APC failed miserably with the prototype VK in the 1970s. It had been intended for indigenous manufacture for UN duties independent of leased British Ferrets and used Soviet BTR-60s. The MoD made no design studies and chose its own private tractor manufacturer Vammaskoski who had no idle time to build military vehicles. So local components were used starting with a Valmet 1100 tractor and transmission and the construction was contracted out. The vehicle as delivered had severe shortcomings including: no suspensions system, low speed, underpowered, poor handling, and with dangerous interior conditions! The ride was absolutely cramped and painful- helmets were required at all times due to multiople protrusions of construction all over the place! The vehicle was sluggish and hard to control. It was evaluated against the BTR-60 and the findings were: VK pros- diesel engine. BTR-60 pros- everything else!!! The VK was cancelled and a new type was developed that proved far better, the Sisu XA-180 series. Vammaskoski redesigned the vehicle later but it never got off the drawing board!

http://www.student.oulu.fi/~tjama/VK1.png http://www.student.oulu.fi/~tjama/VK2.png