The FV101 Scorpion was designed as a replacement for the six wheeled Saladin Armoured Car to provide forward reconnaissance. Two of the design criteria were that it should be light enough to be carried in a Hercules aircraft and narrow enough to travel between the rubber trees in Malaya. It was powered by a Jaguar petrol engine and had a crew of three.

The first production Scorpion was delivered in 1972, with The Blues and Royals in Windsor being the first unit equipped with them in 1973. Scorpion continued in use up to the first Gulf war in 1990/91. After the war it was considered that the amount of smoke produced in the turret when the gun was fired was a health and safety risk. As a result, all Scorpions were withdrawn from British Army service. A number of the hulls were fitted with the turrets from Fox armoured cars to produce the Sabre.

The model represents the final form of the Scorpion as used in the first Gulf War (Operation Granby).