The V.A.M.P. was first released in 1982. Packaged with the action figureClutch, the design was essentially a Jeep, with dual-mounted 7.62mm machine guns that swiveled and elevated. The V.A.M.P. Mark II was released in 1984 with a tan-painted Clutch, and instead of the original's green color and twin machine guns, it too was painted tan and equipped with a quad-mount missile launcher. A Sears exclusive included the V.A.M.P. four-wheeled drive vehicle with the HAL artillery laser. The design of the V.A.M.P. was influenced by the Lamborghini Cheetahprototype. In 1988, the V.A.M.P. Mark II was repainted and renamed the "Tiger Sting" for the Tiger Force sub-team. The 2007 version, which lacked the rear guns, was a G.I. Joe convention exclusive. It had a release in 2008, with the figure 'Doubleclutch', its filecard describes the vehicle being used in attacking Cobra Island.
Comics
The vehicle debuts in the first issue of Marvel Comics G.I. Joe series. It is used in an invasion of an island fortress, where Cobra is holding a nuclear physicist. All the Joe's vehicles, including Steeler's M.O.B.A.T., are abandoned due to trickery on the part of Cobra Commander. The soldiers are forced to leave in an enemy aircraft; the Commander's bomb destroys the fortress, the vehicles and much of the surrounding island. A V.A.M.P. is featured in issue 7, where it is revealed it has a remote control device for its weaponry. When Cobra forces capture the Joes and their temporary allies, the Oktober Guard, all the soldiers are lined up in front of a makeshift firing squad. Clutch uses the remote to kill the squad; everyone else escapes. He later uses the V.A.M.P.'s radio to knock out a Cobra trooper who tried to sneak up on him. The V.A.M.P. is used again in defense of Cape Canaveral and the space shuttle. Clutch drives the V.A.M.P. as missile-bait in issue 19. The vehicle, driver and passengers are unscathed, the purpose of the baiting was to destroy a makeshift fortress and convince Cobra they had eliminated the real Joe Headquarters. A V.A.M.P. is used in defense of McGuire Air Force Base, after the Dreadnoks spotted a Dragonfly landing there.
Cartoon
The V.A.M.P. first appears in the "Real American Hero" mini-series. Both V.A.M.P.s and V.A.M.P. Mark IIs appear in the "Revenge of Cobra" mini-series. During the Joes' defense of Washington DC, a V.A.M.P. is picked up by the high winds and smashes into a bank of energy mirrors. Gung-Ho later drives a V.A.M.P. Mk.2 during the assault on Cobra Temple. V.A.M.P.s are featured in the Sunbow G.I. Joe cartoon episode, 'The Battle For The Train of Gold'. A more futuristic version of the V.A.M.P. driven by Long Range appears in the G.I. Joe Sigma 6 cartoon.
Video game
The V.A.M.P. Mark II is featured in the 1985 computer game.
