The vehicle was originally developed in the late 1960s and manufactured by Steyr-Daimler-Puch[2][3] of Graz, Austria, and was named after the Pinzgauer, an Austrian breed of cattle.

In 2007 Armor Holdings was acquired by BAE Systems plc, who discontinued UK production of the Pinzgauer, which was proving to be vulnerable to mines and improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan.

Development work (done in the UK) on a planned Pinzgauer II was evaluated by a BAE subsidiary in Benoni, Gauteng, South Africa but no vehicle was ever made.

The original prototype was developed around 1969 and production began in 1971,[2] as successor of the Steyr-Daimler-Puch Haflinger 700 AP 4×4 light military multi purpose offroad vehicle.

When Austro-Canadian millionaire Frank Stronach took over the shareholder majority of Steyr-Daimler-Puch offroad vehicles, the rights to build Steyr's Pinzgauers were moved to Automotive Technik Ltd; and subsequently to a branch of BAE Systems.

[citation needed] While not as fast on-road (110 kilometres per hour (68 mph)) as an American Humvee, it can carry more troops, and move faster over rough trails.

The Pinzgauer was designed to be reliable and easy to fix; it is shipped with an air-cooled petrol engine with dual-Zenith 36 mm NDIX carburetors.

The rear suspension on the back of the 6×6 712 is designed to provide maximum traction in the most demanding circumstances along with increasing its towing, load carrying, and off-road abilities.

[2] The Pinzgauer (or Pinz as it is known to most British soldiers) is more common as a utility vehicle in Royal Artillery units due to its employment as a light gun tractor.

A new lightly-armoured version called the "Vector" briefly entered service in the British Army in early 2007, as part of an effort to provide safer patrol vehicles for troops in Afghanistan.

[6] The Pinzgauer is the basis for the Tactical Ground Station (TGS) element of the Raytheon Systems Limited Airborne Standoff Radar (ASTOR).

Roles very similar to other civilian sourced vehicles like Land Rover in the UK, the Blazer CUCV in the US, and the Mercedes G in many European countries.

A few Pinzgauers were used for off-road racing, including the famous Paris to Dakar Rally and the International Rainforest Challenge in Malaysia.