4x4s.org NAMED MODEL · 1982
NAMED MODELFrance

TPK 4.20 SM3.

The standard VLRA: 3,600 mm wheelbase, 2,500 kg of payload or seventeen men, two 180-litre fuel tanks, four jerrycans and a 200-litre drinking-water tank for 1,600 km, and an open cab with a folding windscreen.

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Sources & evidence
TPK 4.20 SM3 — A TPK 4.20 SM of the 22e bataillon d'infanterie de marine, Bastille Day 2004.Pierre Delattre · CC BY-SA 2.0 fr ↗
BASE VEHICLEACMAT VLRA (1967– )BUILT BYACMAT, Saint-NazaireIN SERVICE1982OPERATED INFrancePRODUCTIONNot publishedLAYOUT4 wheels

The record

In ACMAT's 1982 range the 4.20 SM3 is the base liaison, reconnaissance and support truck — 4,300 kg empty, 100 km/h, 65 per cent gradients, 0.9 m fording — and it could be air-dropped with preparation. Army Recognition gives 6,800 kg in combat order, up to 3,000 kg of payload and 2 + 12/19 soldiers; right-hand-drive examples and a 2,500-litre tank on a removable frame were offered.

Specification

MANUFACTUREDListed in 1982
ENGINEPerkins 6.354.4 six-cylinder diesel, 5.8 litres, 120 hp SAEPerkins 6.354
PRODUCTION RUNNot published
COUNTRY OF ORIGINFrance
OPERATED INFrance
STATUSout of production
RECORD KINDNamed model
MODEL LINEVLRA
FAMILYVLRA
WHEELS4
BODY STYLEcargo

Catalogue fields describe the vehicle's structure and body as this registry records it. They are not certified factory measurements, and no performance figures are published here.

Variants & colours

Base model variants

Factory colours

  • Sand
  • Vert PIR OTAN (NATO green)
  • Brun terre PIR (earth brown)
  • Sable beige PIR (sand beige)

Codes on hover. Hex values are representative approximations of period paint unless a source states a measured value.

AI rendering impression

An AI rendering impression starts from a 3D model of this vehicle, which an image model then paints into a scene. It is an artist's impression of the type, made to give a feel for the vehicle in its element — not a photograph, and not a record of any particular vehicle.

Proportions, fittings, markings, colours and the setting can all drift from the original in the process. For the vehicle's actual details, rely on the specification, the photographs and the cited sources on this page.

Sources

  1. 1Acmat VLRA TPK 420 SM3 ↗Véhicules hors série (Nicolas Bergon), from ACMAT literature · accessed 2026-09-24SOURCE
  2. 2VLRA 1 TPK ↗Army Recognition · accessed 2026-09-24SOURCE

Registry record updated 2026-09-24 · status: researched