The design was not without its flaw though, mostly concerned with the heavy weight of 65 tons and an unreliable engine with the gasoline-electric drive system. 91 of the VK 4501 P chassis were converted into the Ferdinand. Plus, with the 88 mm Pak 43 on a fixed casemate design, it could knock out any allied tanks before they could enter effective ranges against the Ferdinand. The armour bolted onto the front plate gave the Ferdinand an armour thickness of 200 mm. Changes from the original VK 4501 P chassis was the movement of the engine towards the centre rather than the rear. The Ferdinand was a formidable tank destroyer design. These new tank destroyers were then called the Ferdinand, after its designer Ferdinand Porsche. Since the design lost, it was determined to use the chassis for the basis of a new vehicle, namely a tank destroyer to mount the new and formidable 88 mm PaK 43 anti-tank gun. Henschel won the contract, but Porsche was extremely confident that their design would win that around 100 of the VK 4501 P chassis were already constructed. Porsche further developed their pre-existing 45-ton prototype, the VK 45.01 (P), while Henschel adapted their 36 ton prototype (VK 3601 H) to create the VK 4501 H. During the program to create what will end up being the Tiger I tanks, Henschel and Porsche competed against each other for the contract to build the tanks.
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