Built as a successor to the formidable Tiger I, the Tiger II (also called the Königstiger), was by far the most powerful tank of World War II. It incorporated many of the improvements seen in the Panther, mainly highly sloped armor on the hull and turret that made it nearly invulnerable to a frontal shot by any Allied tank (maximum armor was 180 mm, nearly double that of the Tiger). Armament was also boosted by the inclusion of a longer-barreled version of the 88-mm, the KwK 43 L/71, plus a telescopic sight that made it extremely accurate and capable of taking out any Allied tank. Suspension was similar to that of the Panther, featuring large interleaved road wheels sprung on torsion bars, while the wide tracks gave it comparatively low ground pressure for a tank of its size. Unfortunately, the drawbacks of such armament and protection was extreme weight, poor mobility, and reliability issues that greatly limited its use as an offensive weapon (as evidenced by its less than stellar performance during the Ardennes Offensive). On the defensive, however, the Tiger II was without equal, but its impact on the outcome of the war was negligible due to the low numbers of vehicles produced. After its introduction in Normandy after D-Day, it served on both Western and Eastern fronts and was in continuous production until the end of the war.

As was the case with the Tiger I, the Tiger II began from a pair of competing prototypes by Henschel and Porsche, the former once again proving itself the winner of the contract for what became the PzKpfw VI Ausf B (SdKfz 182) or Tiger II. There were no variants, although some early versions used a Porsche turret that was characterized by a curved front as opposed to the angular front in the standard Henschel turret. The chassis of the Tiger II was evenutally adapted into the Jagdtiger, the most powerful tank destroyer of the war (described esparately).