[1] Development of this vehicle started in April 1942, with two design variants (Ausf.

The Krupp company received an order for construction of 50 turrets.

The turrets were mounted on the first Tiger II's, which were supposed to be armed with a KwK L/71 gun, like its Henschel counterpart.

[2] After the VK 45.01 (P) failed to win the contract, Ferdinand Porsche began looking at ways to improve the design for a future version.

What initially began as a single vehicle, entitled "Typ 180" grew into a series of five different vehicles, requiring the development of two hull configurations: the Hinten with its turret at the back (as shown in the picture on top) and the Vorne with its turret on the front.