M12G1 Gauss Warthog

Gauss Warthog The M12G1 Warthog Light Anti-Armor Vehicle (abbreviated M12G1 LAAV), more commonly known as the Gauss Warthog, or Gauss 'Hog is a United Nations Space Command ground vehicle.

It is a variant of the Warthog series of vehicle, but is much more uncommon than the ubiquitous M12 Warthog LRV. It is seen only in Halo 2 and Halo 3, not Halo: Combat Evolved, and only in multiplayer is it available in Halo PC.

Description
The M12G1 Warthog is almost exact in every detail to the standard M12 Warthog LRV except that the chain-gun on the back has been replaced with a M68 Gauss Cannon.

The Gauss Cannon is an anti-vehicular weapon that is like a miniature Magnetic Accelerator Cannon - it fires fast-moving projectiles by asynchronous magnetic acceleration in the base of the cannon. It takes about a half of a second to recharge between shots and has unlimited ammunition.

Although the Gauss Warthog was featured in Halo 2, the only official level in which you will be offered a Gauss Warthog is Metropolis. You can find one late in the level Quarantine Zone, but since you are probably alone by then, it is of little use. In Halo 3 it is featured on the levels The Ark and The Covenant.

Observations
In Halo 3, it has been occasionally that through the turrets' scope, it would show red when near a vehicle, relative the the sniper scope showing terrain outlines when not in scope mode, but only vehicles have been noted to be seen through the scope (the scope isn't usable like the sniper scope is, or the rocket scope, it is more like a viewer to the person wielding the weapon, isn't able to view the enemy, so more related to a glass window). The shooting speed has been slightly slowed, but more damaging explosion range. The shots are also a different color, where in Halo 2 the shots were a white colour with a slight orangery tint, and when they landed, they have a resemblance to the Gravity Hammer strike, while the Halo 3 shots were a orangery-blue, and the shots were somewhat of a wraith shot exploding, mixed with a fragmentation grenade explosion. Also, the Gauss Cannon projectiles are not as effective against Scarab leg joints than other weapons.

Trivia

 * Before the launch of Halo 2, it was hinted by Bungie that different types of Warthogs with different color schemes would also make it in the game: a moon variant, cargo variant, jungle variant, and a snow variant. This never came through; however a Troop-Transport variant was used in Halo 3.
 * Sounding the Horn while keeping the vehicle still gives you away on the motion sensor.