Reference may be made to one more design for which an Italian officer was responsible. In this case, the vehicle formed a kind of moving battery of machine guns, mounted so as normally to point out of the sides of the car. Each half of the body, however, was capable of being swung round on hinges either at the back or at the front, and castors were provided to facilitate its motion. Thus, when the car was stationary, it was possible to swing round the whole of its armament so as to face the front, rear, or either side. [Illustration: _“The Autocar” photograph._ A “MINERVA” ARMOURED CAR WITH MACHINE GUN.] If the general conclusion as to the utility of armoured motor cars bears out the impressions formed in the earlier portions of the war, there can be little doubt that these more comprehensive designs will receive in the near future consideration which has been denied to them in the past, and that types of armoured car will be evolved as much more effective than the extemporised patterns as our armoured cruisers are when compared with converted merchant ships. Without devoting too much space to the consideration of machines which are as yet merely proposals and not actualities, brief mention may be made of a design recently got out by a British engineer, and representing in a sense the last word in armoured cars, since it is in no sense a make-shift, and provides for the complete protection of the driver and every item of the mechanism. The car is, of course, completely enclosed, and from its roof projects an armoured turret containing two machine guns. The driver gets his view of the road only through louvres in front and in the side doors. The lines of the car consist of a series of curves which are preferred to flat surfaces, in order to increase to a maximum the possibility of deflecting any bullets which strike the vehicle. Even the radiator and the tyres are armoured. The former is situated against the dashboard, and has above it a cover in the shape of a cupola through which the air is drawn down by a fan round the vertical tubes. Each wheel is built up of two steel discs, one inside the other, and an air tube covered by strong fabric is placed between the two. The outer disc is allowed sufficient freedom of movement to enable the arrangement to approximate the pneumatic tyre in effect, while being completely protected from puncture from any cause. It is reasonable to suppose that the near future will see considerable developments in the armoured motor car in two directions, namely, in the direction of the vehicle designed and constructed throughout for a specific purpose, and also in the direction of the lightly armoured fast touring car available for staff and scouting purposes.