The straight and very angled shapes of the hull and turret clearly show that Osorio MBT was made with composite armour consisting of aluminum, steel, ceramics and even carbon fiber mounted in different layers that are kept secret, although it is known that Engesa was assisted by the British industry.Two prototypes were built, one with a 105mm riffled gun and the other with a 120mm smooth-bore gun destined for the export market. This picture shows the prototype with Giat 120mm gun. After the Engesa’s bankruptcy, both prototypes were ceded to the Brazilian army for their preservation.EE-T1 Osorio is externally similar to the French AMX-40, against which it “fought” in Saudi Arabia to equip the armoured forces, and from which the Brazilian tank emerged victorious. The Saudi tank would have been called “Al Fahd“, but in the end it was all in nothing and the Osorio was diluted without entering into service with any army.The internal layout of the tank was the classic one, with a front driving position on the left, a combat chamber in the center and the engine compartment in the rear of the hull. The driver had a Avimo DC-1032 driving periscope, interchangeable by another one with night vision and luminosity intensification.The Osorio MBT mounted a German Motoren Werke Manheim TBD-234-V12 diesel engine. This engine was a 21,600 ccm V12 four-stroke, turbocharged and water cooled that developed 1,000 hp at 2,300 rpm.This is the 105mm gun Osorio prototype that was intensively tested by the Brazilian army, which was decided shortly afterwards by the purchase of second-hand ex-Belgian Leopard 1 tanks for an infinitely lower price than Osorio, which was really cheap despite being a new design.The mobility was a very well developed aspect in the Osorio MBT, having a Dunlop Dunloride hydropneumatic suspension with shock absorvers in the 1st, 2nd and 6th roadwheels. The running gear consisted of 6 double roadwheels with torsion bars, front drive wheel, sprocket rear wheel, three return rollers and a Diehl-234 57cm wide tracks.The reduced weight of the Osorio MBT, 35 tons in the 105mm gun variant, and 39 tons win the 120mm gun variant, gave it outstanding mobility. It reached 70 km/h on road and was capable of accelerating from 0 to 32 km/h in just 5.4 seconds thanks to its power/weight ratio of 28.6 and 25.6 hp/tonne respectively, one of the highest among the tanks of that time.The guns chosen were the British 105/51mm L-7A3 (M-68) manufactured under license and the french 120/51mm EFAB CN-120 (GIAT), although the British 120mm L-11A5 gun and the German Rheinmetall 120mm Rh 120/44 gun were also studied.
