Swedish man buys army tank ‘on impulse’

Jimmy Johansson, a 23-year-old from Borlänge in central Sweden, can now add tank to his list of possessions. But the 76,000 kronor ($11,700) purchase wasn't something he planned. 

 

"It was just an impulse buy from beginning… I went to look at a motor and my eyes were drawn to this instead," he told The Local. 

 

The PBV 401, a Soviet-built fully amphibious tank that weighs around 12 tonnes and travels at a top speed of 80 kilometres per hour, is parked out the front of his grandfather's house while Johansson decides what to do with it.

 

The purchase was encouraged by Johansson's mother.

 

"When I was about to buy it I called my mother and she just started laughing. She said 'Just get it' so I did. And because I can't take it out on the streets we had to take it on the back of a truck to get it home… people couldn't help but stare."

 

The 23-year-old confessed that he remains unsure what to do with the tank, but has considered putting it on show at motor events around the country.

 

So what next for the tanked out Swede?

 

"Well, I could always buy a helicopter," he told The Local with a chuckle. "I mean, I've got nothing to planned, but you never know."

 

The tank on the way home to Johansson's grandfather:

The Local/kd/og