With the insufficient cross country capability of the 6-wheeled armoured cars, Heer Ordnance Department contracted Büssing to develop an eight-wheel armoured car with all-wheel-drive, all-wheel-steering and two driver positions at front and rear. Deutsche Werke in Kiel were contracted to design the armoured body.
Schwerer Panzerspähwagen Sd. Kfz. 231 was the standard reconnaissance variant built from 1937 to 1941 with production switching to SPW 232 without a radio. Panzer-Aufklarungsabteilung (gepanzert) either had a Armored Car Company with a Platoon of three SPW 231 and three more SPW 232 or the freie Gliederung verison that had their wheeled armored cars in the Headquarters Company with two heavy Heavy Armoured Car Platoons with 6 SdKfz 234/1 orSdKfz 231 or SdKfz 232.
