WWII German panzers & AFV's: Q&A

As far as I can tell, all these vehicles were prototypes that were conducting field tests. If they performed well - all the better. Either way it seems that most of these prototypes (and there were A LOT more on the PzIV chassis) never made it to production stage becaue of desin stages/costs/capabilities/etc.
One of the greatest drawbacks with such vehicles is the very low amount of rounds they can carry. Coupled with the fact that most transport within the Wehrmacht was still horse-drawn, you get very big supply problems very soon. These vehicles need a constant supply of rounds to function effectively for a longer time. And I guess it just wasn't effective enough - just liek a lot other German tanks never were.

So where does this fit in the development process...

That isnt difficult to discern hence the question about where it fell into the design process, was there ever to be a Tiger III?

I was under the impression everything was to be consolidated into the E series, there was also rumoured to be a design off the Tiger II chassis using a much smaller turret.

I had a quick look at work but now home and better looking I see parts of the picture are more a painting than a picture

thx Earl Grey for the info 

There also is a Spielberger book about prototypes and trial vehicles in general, but I think it's pretty old by now and esepcially the last ten years have seen a lot of new discoveries. In the end, we just don't know enough about the stuff still in development because lots of documents were lost due to the bombing raids. And others are being withheld in private collections... Who knows where we'll be in another ten years?