BMW caught in government fleet controversy

Rival media outlets feuding over federal government's vehicle selection process

Rumblings were heard even before the last federal election, when it was revealed that the Australian Federal Police had opted to buy the BMW X5 to escort dignitaries.

The resulting media frenzy drove the AFP to issue a 'clarification' in August, outlining the reasoning behind the decision. In the statement, the AFP observed that it "requires a proportion of dignitary protection fleet to be armoured."

Retrofitting the AFP's Ford Territory models for that role would have been prohibitively expensive, whereas the X5 is available 'off the shelf' in a configuration that would resist rounds fired from handguns. The X5s were purchased by the AFP in October 2010, so it's not an especially fresh news story, other than in light of Ford's announcement it would cease production of the Territory (and Falcon too) in October 2016, when it closes down its local factories.

In the statement, the AFP also expressed confidence that "the BMW armoured security vehicle is the most suited [sic] vehicle to fulfill the AFP’s operational responsibilities in protecting both Australian and foreign dignitaries."

Now the issue has flared again, but with different players this time around – and presumably with a new agenda in mind.

Earlier this week, News Corporation ran a story suggesting that Holden had chosen not to participate in a tender process for the replacement of high security limousines operated by the federal government. The article, which didn't carry a by-line, appeared on the media outlet's website, noting that the government has an existing contract with BMW for the supply of 'high security' vehicles.

Furthermore, the article carried counterclaims from Holden that it had shown no interest in bidding. According to the report, a Holden spokesperson refuted government suggestions that Holden made no effort to bid.

Amusingly, the writer succeeded in bundling this matter in with speculation at the time that Holden would announce the cessation of local manufacturing – which has since occurred. Somehow, presumably, sales of nine high security limousines would keep Holden building cars in Australia. The writer also implied wrong-doing on the part of Holden and its MD, Mike Devereux, by refusing to reveal the fate of workers at the company's Elizabeth plant, with Christmas fast approaching.

But even more amusingly, and just to show balance, the writer noted that BMW "once made engines for the Nazi war machine," which would have gone down a treat, we're sure, with News Corp's target readership.

The story might have ended there, except Fairfax Media, not to be outdone by their principal rivals, published a story today in response. That article, citing the Attorney-General's Department, refutes claims allegedly made by 'Abbott government sources' in the News article.

According to the Fairfax report by Chief Political Correspondent Mark Kenny, Holden believes the claim published in the News article is disinformation – or "part of a deliberate negative backgrounding campaign by Coalition ministers designed to make the company look uncommitted to Australia," as Kenny expressed it.

Kenny claims to have seen part of a confidential ministerial brief from the Attorney-General's Department to the responsible minister at the time, Labor's Nicola Roxon. The Fairfax writer states that it clearly reveals a BAE Systems bid, based around Holden's Caprice, was recommended by the department. Three other bids were received at the time, but the BAE Systems bid was chosen ahead of two bids from Mercedes-Benz and Audi, and a fourth from another aftermarket modifier, Integrated Design and Engineering Solutions, also basing its bid on the Caprice.

That recommendation was made in December of last year, according to the Fairfax report, but the contract to supply a fleet of nine high security vehicles has since been awarded to BMW, which didn't bid originally.

Predictably, the Labor opposition has pounced on this, with Senator Kim Carr alleging that the Liberal government has "pursued a vendetta against Holden."

It's one way to get your products noticed by the public, although that may not have been the precise plan in mind when BMW's Senior Regional Manager for International Direct & Special Sales, Thierry Weidenbach, visited Australia earlier this week. During his brief stopover, the Frenchman spoke with motoring.com.au about the manufacturer's high security vehicles.

Based on Weidenbach's explanation, it appears that the high security limousines the prestige importer will supply to the federal government will be the 760Li in an extremely safe configuration that BMW claims to be certified to a rating of 'VR7/9' – seven for the protection afforded by the vehicle's glass and nine for the sheet metal.

This particular car, "hand-built," as Weidenbach describes it, runs down a line parallel to the conventional 7 Series production line at the company's plant in Dingolfing, Germany.

Window glass is 6cm thick – that's centimetres, not millimetres. The steel inside the doors and other panels measures 10mm and is capable of withstanding some heavy firepower from outside. Although the 760Li in this standard security trim has fixed glass, it is possible, Weidenbach says, for customers to option up the car with electric windows. But this is not your conventional fast-glass set-up, not when each window weighs 150kg. The electric motor required to lift each window is "huge," Weidenbach says.

Total weight of the vehicle with all the internal cladding is 1.5 tonnes higher than a standard car. In addition to the occupant protection, the car features a self-sealing fuel tank, and the car will continue to run for up to 80km without coolants or lubricants, in the event that the engine is hit by gunfire or a bomb. Tyres are a special type supplied by Michelin and featuring a secondary tyre inside. The car will run 80km at 80km/h on damaged tyres.

Despite all that, the high security 7 Series will complete the 0-100km/h sprint in 6.2 seconds. It achieves that, in part, through shorter ratios for the transmission. While the car also has upgraded suspension and brakes to cope with the added weight – and Weidenbach claims that it drives like a normal 7 Series – BMW won't offer the car with the Bang & Olufsen premium audio option or the sunroof option.

"You will not see the difference between this car and a normal BMW," Weidenbach says. "And this is the major point of our engineering, because the suspension, the chassis, the brakes – all have been completely re-engineered for the car, so when you are driving the car you don't really feel [the weight]."

According to the BMW exec, there's no room inside the doors for the high-end audio system's speakers, and the sunroof represents an obvious security weakness the manufacturer chose to eradicate.

Without the electric window option, the modified 760Li is priced at €360,000 (over AUD $550,000). Delivery time from ordering ranges from six to 10 months. That price doesn't include advanced driver training sessions, although BMW does offer them, and will absorb the price for buyers purchasing more than one vehicle. Other options available for the car are quite unusual. They include a windscreen with pyrotechnic bolts to jettison the windscreen and allow the occupants to leave the car in a hurry, if it's involved in a catastrophic collision. As well, buyers can specify the car – at extra cost – with a life-support system comprising two oxygen bottles and an integrated system to detect contaminants outside the car.

Weidenbach says that some of the manoeuvres seen in blockbuster films are actually practised during these sessions, although the hand-brake turn is impossible with the car's electronic parking brake, so the drivers are taught to spin the car with a Scandinavian flick instead.

BMW will sell its security vehicles to any buyer, but in Australia the AFP conduct security checks before the buyer can take delivery – since cars like the security 760Li are potentially quite a weapon in themselves, weighing 3.8 tonnes as they do.

The five X5s supplied to the AFP are certified to VR4 rating by the German government's testing facility in Mellrichstadt. Based on that rating, the X5 Security will withstand shots fired from a .44 Magnum or a 9mm Luger. That protection comes from Aramide, which adds 350kg to the weight of the X5. The X5 Security Plus dispenses with the Aramide in favour of 6mm steel for a 'VR6' rating, which means it will withstand an attack by Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifles.

Both the X5 Security and Security Plus are based on 4.4-litre xDrive50i variants. The VR4-rated X5 Security the AFP has ordered will cost an extra €60,000 over the price of the standard car, and the X5 Security Plus is an extra €100,000.

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BMW caught in government fleet controversy

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