The French designed their Automitrailleuse de Découverte (AMD), Deep Reconnaissance Armored Cars, to advance far ahead of their division to locate the enemy and report their movements. As they were expected to operate with little support apart from their own motorcyclists, the AMD needed to be capable of defending itself. The Panhard AMD model 1935 has a two-man turret armed with the excellent 25mm SA-35 gun, a shortened version of the towed 25mm SA-34 anti-tank gun that fires higher-powered ammunition to maintain its performance.

The AMD-35 has two drivers, one facing forward and the other backwards, allowing it to reverse out of an ambush. Its reliability, its ability to travel 186 miles (300km) on a tank of fuel, and its near-silent operation help make it one of the best armored cars in service at the start of the war.