bat auction success
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BaT Auction Success Story: Centurion Tank Becomes a YouTube Star — Explained

Byjustpastevehicles

If you’ve been following this site for any amount of time, it will come as no surprise that we and the BaT community get very excited when tanks come up for auction. And if you’re like us, you’re intensely curious about who, exactly, bids on and wins such things (fun fact: tanks boast the same 80% sale rate as BaT auctions in general). To provide at least one answer, we can say that the British Centurion main battle tank sold by @anthonym1151 in December 2025 was purchased by Buycheapcars, aka Westen Champlin, a popular YouTube and social media content creator who does all manner of insane/fun/dangerous things in the name of “redneck science.” He said he’d be delighted to share the story with the BaT community—so here, in all its glory, is the 20-minute saga of his Centurion!

This was not an impulse purchase, as Champlin and his team had been tank shopping for the better part of a year. After some trouble getting 1960s British military tech to work in sub-zero Illinois weather, they were able to get the Centurion loaded onto a gooseneck trailer for the trip back to Kansas, where their new Horsepower Ranch facility lends adequate room for tracked shenanigans. They were able to get the tank to fire (in more ways than one) and are now hard at work deciding how best to make use of it.

Big thanks to Westen and his team for sharing this tank-buying experience with us, and we hope to see more of it in the future!

Cover image: Westen champlin via Facebook

If you have a Success Story about a car you’ve bought or sold on BaT, please send a few lines and pictures (or a video) to community.content@bringatrailer.com, and we’ll send you a $50 credit to the BaT Gear Store when your story posts to the site.

We love to hear from satisfied BaT buyers and sellers, and a Success Story feature is a great addition to any car’s history when you’re ready to sell.

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