The Luchs was the only Panzer II design with the Schachtellaufwerk overlapping/interleaved road wheels and "slack track" configuration to enter series production, with 100 being built from September 1943 to January 1944 in addition to the conversion of the four Ausf.

Originally given the experimental designation VK 13.03, it was adopted under the alternate name Panzerspähwagen II and given the popular name Luchs.

[1] In the summer of 1938, German manufacturing firms Daimler-Benz and MAN began developing a new reconnaissance tank under the VK 9.01 index.

This tank was positioned as a development of Panzer II, but in fact it was a brand new machine.

However, in July 1940, the Waffenamt connected the Czech firms Škoda and Böhmisch-Mährische Maschinenfabrik (BMM) to the program of the creation of a 13-ton reconnaissance tank.

L.[6] The box-shaped welded hull was divided into three compartments (control, combat and engine).

To solve this problem, it was decided to develop a new turret which could take the 5 cm gun on it; however, mass production of 5 cm-armed tanks was never started.

[1] The tank accommodated four crew members, the commander (gunner), driver, loader and the radio operator.

[1] The tank was fitted with a Maybach HL 66P six-cylinder four-stroke in-line liquid cooling engine with a power of 180 hp.

The fuel is ethylated petrol with an octane number 76 was placed in two tanks with a total capacity of 235 liters.

(One Luchs production tank was equipped with a 12-cylinder V-shaped Tatra 103 diesel with power input of 220 hp).

[10] The transmission consisted of a two-disc main dry friction clutch of the Fichtel and Sachs Mecano type, a mechanical synchronized transmission of the Aphon SSG48 (6-1), a gimbal shaft and MAN-type pad brakes.

[10] For each side, the Luchs' chassis consisted of five cropped support links, with a wheel diameter of 735 mm, located in two rows.

Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg's original order consisted of 800 tanks, of which 700 were to be produced as Luchs 5 cm.

The MAN company was not able to fulfill the order completely as it was producing the Panther tank.