Rhino

"60 tons of fun. A heavily-armored battle tank with a 1,500hp turbine engine and a 120mm cannon, the Rhino delivers a hell of a lot of bang for your buck. Much like its namesake, the Rhino is slow on the turn, surprisingly fast on the charge, and generally terrifying to anyone in the vicinity. One of the few vehicles still manufactured in America. Great for doomsday preppers."

- Warstock Cache & Carry webpage.

The Rhino, commonly referred to in police chatters simply as the Tank, is a military tank featured in every game of the franchise after Grand Theft Auto III, with the exception of Grand Theft Auto IV and its episodes.

Description
Like its predecessor in Grand Theft Auto 2, the Rhino appears when the player attains a six star Wanted Level or upon entering Fort Zancudo in Grand Theft Auto V. In the 3D era, the Rhino can be avoided without much difficulty because of its slow speed and bad handling, but it's extremely deadly if the player attempts to engage one, and the soldier driving it always carries strong weapons. Also, when successfully stolen, authorities can bust the player due to the Rhino's slow speed. When it hits a vehicle, the vehicle most of the time explodes straight away; if not, it starts to burn instead. In Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars however, this does not happen. Law enforcement tends not to use the main cannon of the Rhino, except in GTA Chinatown Wars and Grand Theft Auto V, in which the gun causes massive damage and usually kills the player. The Rhino is practically invincible to small arms fire and crashes; only Satchel Charges, dozens of other explosives & rockets, and the Police Maverick's mounted gun can inflict damage. The exception being the Rhino Tank in Grand Theft Auto V; where small arms can eventually cause fatal damage and roughly 6 rounds from an RPG or sticky bombs will cause the engine to catch fire and explode. Additionally, flame weapons such as the Molotov cocktail and flamethrower are able to damage the tank. Note that it is also possible to destroy a Rhino with conventional ordnance, but it takes a staggering amount and a long time to do so. In GTA Liberty City Stories, if you can get the Rhino up and onto the tracks of the subway or the El-Train, the incoming train cars will destroy the tank on impact.

In GTA San Andreas and GTA Liberty City Stories, it's possible to carjack a Rhino and even store one in a safehouse garage. Vice City Stories removes the ability to carjack the Rhino and unlike the other games where a Rhino spawn point is found, the tank is locked until a certain mission is completed (and even then the PS2 version of the game keeps the Rhino locked).

Design
In GTA III, GTA Vice City, GTA Liberty City Stories and GTA Vice City Stories, the Rhino does not appear to be directly based on any real life military vehicle. However, its front end does bear some resemblance to that of the 6-wheeled M93 Fox reconassaince vehicle, and the sides belong to the design of the Panhard ERC 90. Its features also resemble the seemingly original and chunky design reminiscent of a modified M3 Stuart, but with a front that more closely resembles that of an M4 Sherman. The Rhino's weapon configuration and chassis are similar to the equipment of the LAV-600. Because of its heavy construction, with doors on both sides that can easily be damaged with even the slightest hit, and a truck-style 3-axle drivetrain with visible wheels, the turret can only be rotated by pressing buttons, which makes precise shooting almost impossible.

In its original appearance in GTA III, the Rhino assumes a stark appearance with little detail on its armored body. The GTA Vice City rendition, however, saw the addition of a variety of equipment to the vehicle, as well as the enlargement of the turret's barrel. The GTA Liberty City Stories and GTA Vice City Stories variants follow the design cues of the GTA III and GTA Vice City renditions, with the turret barrel of GTA Liberty Stories rendition even being of the same size and length as that in GTA Vice City, although the GTA Vice City Stories variant is even longer.

In GTA San Andreas, the Rhino looks like an M1 Abrams and it is much more realistic than its predecessors. This variant of the Rhino features a beige (desert) camouflage, a normal tank entrance hatch in the front, and a new drive-train with numerous smaller wheels. The design overhaul gives a great deal more realism to the tank's appearance.

It also has a new steering system, which finally allows the player to make very tight turns. The turret is operated with the mouse (PC) or right thumb-stick (PlayStation 2), which allows the player to aim more precisely--however, this means the Rhino can no longer fire backwards on pursuers while keeping the camera pointed forward for steering. The Rhino in GTA San Andreas is also heavy enough to push aircraft, making a Rhino an ideal vehicle to push the Andromada (after blow up all vehicles is activated) from "Stowaway" to their hanger at Verdant Meadows.

Interestingly enough, none of the pre-GTA IV versions have caterpillar tracks, unlike their real world counterparts; this is likely due to tracks being too complex for the game's engine to render.

The Rhino does not appear in Grand Theft Auto IV. It is assumed that Rockstar's goal of making GTA IV more realistic than previous GTA entries led to the tank being cut from the game as the layout of Liberty City/Alderney does not allow much by way of tanks. In GTA IV's first DLC, The Lost and Damned, the text files for a Rhino tank are included, even though it never appears in game. It is later replaced with the APC in The Ballad of Gay Tony. GTA Chinatown Wars reintroduces the Rhino with an appearance similar to the M7 Priest. The GTA Chinatown Wars Rhino bears the distinction of being the first Rhino to ever be depicted as having tracks.

The Rhino returns in Grand Theft Auto V, resembling the Leopard 2A4, and, like GTA Chinatown Wars, is depicted as having tracks, making it overall the most realistic rendition of the vehicle in the series to date (despite being modeled after a non-American military vehicle). It features a powerful main cannon and 2 unusable machine guns, one beside the main gun, and one on the roof. Like the GTA San Andreas rendition, there is a hatch to the driver's seat, but on the left side of the tank. The turret is again controlled by the right thumb-stick, but with greater accuracy than earlier versions of the tank, enabling it to turn very quickly and even aim at pursuing helicopters above. Unlike the 3D Universe renditions, the cannon is solid, making a great advantage of clearing out obstacles without the risk of firing, avoiding the explosion. Unlike former renditions, the Rhino has working lights.

Performance and durability
First Rhino= Second Rhino= Third Rhino= Fourth Rhino=

Overview
In GTA III and GTA Vice City, the Rhino is bullet-proof and explosion-proof and as such it is immune to all weapons except the flamethrower and molotovs. In GTA San Andreas, the Rhino is still a tough vehicle, however, after colliding several times with other tanks, it will start smoking and explode. It will also explode if exposed to fire damage or if it gets upside down. While driving the Rhino, one should be careful not to drive through the flames left behind by vehicles that have exploded, as these will set the Rhino on fire doing massive damage and usually destroying it. In Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, the Rhino is immune to bullets but can still be destroyed by fire and about 3 hits from another Rhino's cannon or explosives.

Due to the introduction of treads for GTA Chinatown War's Rhino, the tank gains another a minor advantage in that it can turn while in a stationary position. The durability of the game's Rhino, however, is turned down a notch, being more vulnerable to explosive damage than previous renditions; a pristine Rhino will begin burning as a whole after receiving seven direct hits from a Rocket Launcher or 3 shots from another Rhino's turret.

While Grand Theft Auto V's Rhino is still very powerful, it is not completely indestructible and can be destroyed if it gets caught near too many explosions, or if it takes too many hits from another tank, RPG, or grenade launcher. Large amounts of smoke coming out the back engine and beeping is a sign that the Rhino is losing power, and can be avoided more by staying away from fire and explosions as much as possible. The tracks allow it to turn reasonably well, and it is quite fast for its size. The Rhino is the most powerful vehicle in GTA V and can take about 3-4 direct tank shells, 7-8 direct grenade launcher shots, and 5-6 direct RPG hits before the tank itself is destroyed. Attacking the back of the tank give chances to open the fuel tank, leaving a fuel trail behind the tank which can be ignited, immobilizing the tank after a few minutes.

In GTA Online, the Rhino is the most powerful vehicle, though slow and expensive, the tank will make quick work of enemies on foot or in vehicles. Players that drive a tank on multiplayer are indicated by a specific tank icon on the map, to help players to localize them.

Missions
In GTA V, the mission where the Rhino is most used and prominent is The Paleto Score. The military will fly them in via Cargobobs and drop them off to use against Michael, Trevor, and Franklin. The Rhinos in this mission shoot slower than normal and miss more frequently. This is probably done for balancing purposes to give the player more of a chance of escaping them or fighting them off (obviously, a Dozer as the one used in the mission is too slow to dodge tank shots in normal gameplay).

In GTA Chinatown Wars, during the mission Deadly Xin, Xin Shan has the player use a NOOSE Rhino parked at Francis International Airport to create havoc, diverting the police from his own machinations.

In GTA San Andreas and GTA Liberty City Stories, the player can use the Rhino to complete the Vigilante side-mission. Given its near-indestructibility and ability to destroy vehicles on contact, it is considered the easiest vehicle with which to complete the mission, even taking into account its slow speed.

In GTA Vice City, there is a mission in which the player has to steal a tank, Sir, Yes Sir!. Its doors are closed, so the player needs to wait until the driver hops out to buy some doughnuts, or kill the soldier on top of the tank. This tank has a self-destruct mechanism which the player must disable before it destroys the tank. In GTA Liberty City Stories, during the mission "Shogun Showdown", the Yakuza are storing weapons in a warehouse and along with that Toni Cipriani finds a Rhino which he later destroys by detonating it with a bomb.

In the tank, the player can perform Vigilante missions, which means catching and killing suspects. The Rhino isn't necessarily the best vehicle to do this mission (especially not in games where the Hunter is available) because the player risks increasing his own wanted level at an accelerated rate due to the tank's penchant for collateral damage. On the other hand, if the player cannot complete the missions with the other, comparatively flimsy police vehicles, the Rhino might be better. If the player can intercept the enemy vehicles, rather than chasing them, the player may be able to strike the targets with the tank instead of firing on them. This method cuts down on the wanted level the player receives, which may help him avoid having to fight the military on some occasions.

Notable Owners

 * Phil Cassidy
 * Military
 * Yakuza (Formerly)

GTA III

 * Spawns at Phil Cassidy's Army Surplus in Rockford after completion of The Exchange.
 * Military officers pursue the player at a 6-star wanted level.
 * Can be spawned using cheats.

GTA Vice City

 * Can be found inside the Fort Baxter Air Base after having collected 90 hidden packages.
 * Can be encountered during a 6-star wanted level.
 * Can be spawned using cheats.

GTA San Andreas

 * Two spawn in eastern Area 69, in two large hangars near the airstrip where two Hydras spawn. Entering the base gives a five-stars wanted level to the player, though it should not be a problem to the player. Only during and after Black Project.
 * Will spawn underneath the overpass going above the end of Grove Street after 100% completion is achieved.
 * Can be spawned using a cheat (see Cheats in GTA San Andreas page).
 * The military will pursue CJ at a six-star wanted level, sometimes using Rhinos. You can get it only if it was left by its driver.

GTA Liberty City Stories

 * Spawns in Fort Staunton when 100% is achieved.
 * Spawns during the 6 star wanted level.

GTA Vice City Stories

 * Inside the Fort Baxter military base, it is there from the beginning of the game and locked until the mission Over The Top is done.
 * Driven by the army when the player gets a 6 star wanted level. As with the Rhino at Fort Baxter, they remain locked until the completion of Over The Top unless set on fire. Note: in the original PS2 version of the game, the Rhinos remain inaccessible, even after completing Over the Top, but in the double pack version, the Rhinos are almost always unlocked.

GTA Chinatown Wars

 * Available for purchase from the Auto Merchant when the main story is complete, at $10000.
 * Can be found in a fenced-off warehouse area at the southern end of Francis International Airport; activates Fast Tracks. Players will warp outside a parked Rhino at the starting point regardless of whether or not the player completes or fails the mission (Note: To be used normally, the Rhino must be entered, before the player quits the side mission and reenter the Rhino quickly, or start a Vigilante or taxi mission and entering the Rhino). One should note there is always a civilian Patriot next to the tank, which possibly be meant to represent a Humvee.
 * Driven by military when the player gets a 6 star wanted level but they are inaccessible.

GTA V

 * Can be found at Fort Zancudo. The military will use Rhinos to shoot at the player once inside the base. These can be hijacked, but not stored in any garage.
 * Can be purchased for $3,000,000 from Warstock Cache & Carry in single player. The Rhino will spawn in the protagonist's aircraft hangar.

GTA Online

 * Can be found at Fort Zancudo. The military will use Rhinos to shoot at the player once inside the base.
 * In GTA Online once the player reaches rank 70, it can be purchased from Warstock Cache & Carry for $1,500,000. The player can then call it in via Pegasus Lifestyle Management.

GTA Vice City

 * Sir, Yes Sir!

GTA Liberty City Stories

 * Shogun Showdown

GTA Chinatown Wars

 * Deadly Xin

GTA V

 * Cargobob (optional)
 * The Paleto Score
 * Rampage Four

General

 * In real life, a battle tank was used only a few times in history for law enforcement functions in the United States, most notably the 1993 siege in Waco, TX. Like in the Waco siege, the military in the 3D Universe did not use the tank's cannon.
 * Except GTA V, Rhinos in all previous 3-D console based games have vulnerability that's inverse to their real life counterparts. This means real life tank are invulnerable to fire based weapons, such as flame throwers and molotovs. This is because the tanks have baffles and blockers in the engine area to specifically block out the flames and smoke. Also, modern tanks have what is known as the "NBC" or Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical filtration system. This system sucks in air from specific filtered and baffled air intakes with the pressure of the interior kept slightly higher so smoke and other "dirty" air can not sneak it, making it even more invulnerable to fires and smoke. Explosives, however, are another story, especially with stuff such as IED (Improvised Explosive Devices) and modern anti-tank missiles.
 * The Rhino is able to honk a horn, similar to civilian vehicles. The horn sound is that of commercial trucks.

3D Universe

 * The Rhinos in both GTA San Andreas and GTA Vice City fire rounds similar to air burst rounds. The main differences are the way the rounds will explode on contact but if fired into the air they will detonate in mid air. This is because tank rounds, other than solid armor-penetrators such as APFSDS (Armor Piercing Fin-stabilized Discarding Sabot), all have timer fuses (rounds such as HEAT, High-Explosive Anti-Tank or HEMP, High-Explosive Multi-Purpose). This not only arms the tank shell after a safe distance, but also detonate them after the timer is expired so as not leave a live round on the battlefield to harm friendly forces or civilians later.The Rhino Tank before GTA San Andreas may be inspired by the same vehicle from Warhammer 40.000, by it's striking resemblance, specifically the Predator variant with no sponson guns.
 * In GTA San Andreas, the vehicle is completely bulletproof and near to explosion-proof, requiring more than 12 hits from a Rocket Launcher and 5 hits from a Hydra. It is vulnerable to fire, however.
 * In GTA LCS and VCS, the Rhino has a CVT transmission, as the engine makes no gear shifts.
 * Low-detailed LOD models of the Rhino in GTA San Andreas appear to assume a design more similar to older Rhinos. This difference is apparent when the player views one of the tanks from afar.
 * In GTA San Andreas, it is impossible to pop the Rhino's tires.
 * Despite its size, it is possible to successfully park (and therefore save) the Rhino inside the Johnson House garage in GTA San Andreas.
 * In GTA San Andreas, the Rhino only weights 25 tons according to the handling.cfg.
 * Sometimes in GTA Vice City, GTA Liberty City Stories and GTA Vice City Stories when you use a cheat to spawn a Rhino while standing on the road it will sometimes spawn on top of you and trap the protagonist inside the Rhino. The only way to get out the Rhino is to suicide or reload a save file, but no damage is dealt on the player.
 * A glitch that involves one of the health cheats in San Andreas creates a whole new axle dead center in the drive train. (Confirmed in the PS2 and PC version)
 * The artwork for GTA LCS shows the Rhino with tracks but in-game it doesn't have tracks.
 * In GTA San Andreas, if one enables the "vehicle of death" cheat and engages a Rhino tank, the Rhino will explode while the player is unharmed.

HD Universe

 * The grenade launcher in-game appears to fire fragmentation rounds, which in reality would have little to no effect against tank armor, making the six grenades it takes to set the tank aflame highly unrealistic; this is likely done for balancing purposes.
 * Considering the Rhino's hull layout, it's very unrealistic. The driver opens a hatch and sits in one of the sides of the tank, where the treads pass under the main body panels. This is incorrect, as the driver and/or cab will occupy the tread's zone and the last will be passing through it. The correct layout is that the driver would be sitting in the middle of the hull, where the tank's periscopes are located.
 * Though hard to see the underside, one can see the left tread passing through a piece of the vehicle. This piece is actually the main cab.
 * Rarely, the Rhino Tank's treads shows like they were popped like a car's wheel. However, since the Rhino can only reach a determined speed, this factor doesn't affect the vehicle negatively. This issue is seen often when exploding vehicles with the tank, evidenced when it catches fire.
 * Like its GTA: San Andreas predecessor, it fires air burst rounds which explode mid air after a short period of time if they do not hit a solid object.
 * In GTA Online, the Mugger is able to pull someone out of the Rhino and drive away with no difficulty.
 * The Rhino Tank tends to spin wildly around if the player drives backward off a cliff or ramp.
 * In GTA V, if damaged enough, smoke will emit from the back. There will be also a beeping alarm. It gets more intense if the tank is heavily damaged.
 * In GTA: CTW, a player enters a Rhino like they would in a normal car. When wanted by the law enforcement, this fact, combined with the tank's top speed in the game, makes it easy for the police to yank Huang out and bust him.
 * In GTA: CTW, there is a glitch where if you have a 3-star wanted level or higher, and you speed into the area where the Rhino is at Francis International Airport, it is possible for the Rhino to despawn. This only happens in the iOS version.
 * When engaging a Rhino, it is advised to shoot the back of the tank. It appears that the back is weaker than other parts, and shooting the back with anything explosive may result in the gas tank leaking, and immobilizing the tank after a few minutes (the turret will be still operational however).
 * This is realistic, since the back of real tanks is less armoured than the sides and front. The roof of a real tank has even less armor.
 * The tank ordered from Warstock Cache & Carry in singleplayer is different than tanks found in Fort Zancudo and ordered in GTA Online. It lacks a few armor parts on the sides and the front, lacks the Browning MG on the turret, and has a turret hatch opened. The performance remains the same however.
 * After the 1.16 update, the tank ordered in singleplayer now looks like its Fort Zancudo/GTA Online counterpart.
 * After the 1.17 update, the tank gains a turret camera view and the turret no longer spins fast when the player enters the tank and rotates the camera on the opposite direction of the cannon while isn't inside it.
 * In the enhanced version, variable horns have been added for the Rhino. The horn available is randomized.

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