Westen Champlin Buys 1962 Centurion Tank for $130,000, Turning It Into a Parade Showpiece
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 14
Westen Champlin Buys 1962 Centurion Tank for $130,000, Turning It Into a Parade Showpiece
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 14
Kansas YouTuber Westen Champlin, 27, bought a nonfiring 1962 Centurion battle tank for $130,000 in an online Bring a Trailer auction and has since gotten it running.
The four-seat tank still has a power-operated turret, periscopes and a Rolls-Royce Meteor V12 engine, though it can no longer fire.
Champlin, who has 5.3 million YouTube subscribers, said he now uses it mainly as a showpiece for parades and what he called "doing cool stuff."
Bring a Trailer has become a regular marketplace for former military vehicles; the site now hosts just under 1,000 auctions a week and has more than 1.7 million registered users.
What does the booming market for decommissioned battle tanks reveal about our culture's fascination with military power?
As online auctions sell more military gear to civilians, how will lawmakers balance public safety with collector rights?