We’ve heard of bullet-proof glass. We’ve (hopefully) bullet-proofed our systems. But I think the following takes the cake.
According to an article in the Los Angeles Times (mumblefrotz subscription required), the Ford Motor Company has announced the Lincoln Town Car BPS (Ballistic Protection Series). The $145,000 vehicle can reportedly withstand, get this, .308-caliber rounds, 5.56-millimeter-by-45-millimeter “armor-piercing” rounds, and small antipersonnel mines and grenades.
Specs? The windows are 40-millimeter-thick ballistic transparent armor, comprising layers of glass and polycarbonate… and only open 6 inches. Ballistic steel (Brinell hardness rating over 600) wraps the roof, engine compartment, door seals and firewall. The doors have ballistic ceramics, backed with steel and aramid blankets, and weigh around 300 lbs each. The fuel tank is surrounded with a self-sealing compound to reduce leakage. It weighs in at just over 3 tons. However, it only has a stock 4.6-liter, 239-horsepower V8 producing 287 pound-feet of torque at 4,100 rpm. You think Ford could have used the Jaguar V-12. Cheapskates! The website doesn’t state its MPG numbers.
And to top it all off, I can buy it at my local Ford dealer: Galpin!
And its not the only such car. In November 2003, Cadillac announced that it was partnering with Scaletta Moloney Armoring to build a ballistic series Cadillac DeVille. Scaletta already builds a number of Sedan DeVille motorcade vehicles for the GSA, including the presidential limousine. Mercedes-Benz makes the S500 Guard, meeting the European B4 ballistic standard. Both Mercedes-Benz and BMW sell cars capable of taking a hit from a 7.62 armor-piercing round (B6/B7-level protection). However, neither company imports the B6/B7-grade cars into the United States.
I think I’ll just stick with my Honda Civic. Then again, an armored car might be just the thing for Los Angeles Traffic and the 405.
