FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW: BMW arms X5
Special X5 is built to protect passengers against violent assault, kidnapping and organised crimeIf you are in the business of frequenting dangerous global hot spots, BMW might have the vehicle for you.
It’s the BMW Concept X5 Security Plus and it is capable of protecting its four occupants from all kinds of violent assaults, kidnapping and organised crime – including those wielding AK-47 assault rifles.
Based on the new-generation X5, which we drove at the global launch in Canada last week ahead of its arrival here in mid-November, the armoured SUV concept is claimed to be the only vehicle in its class that meets the requirements of protection level VR6.
To achieve this, the special X5 has an armoured passenger cell using high-performance steel mouldings and panels, along with sealed joints in critical areas such as around the doors, and other places where panels join body pillars.
The window glass has been specially developed to resist attack by blunt weapons, while a polycarbonate coating on the inside of the windows protects against flying splinters.
BMW says the high-security X5, which made its global debut at today’s Frankfurt motor show alongside the plug-in hybrid X5 e-Drive concept, not only looks pretty much the same as a regular version (it says even those with an expert eye would be pushing to identify it) but that the vehicle’s general performance is also “virtually on a par”.
The chassis, electronic management systems and the brake system have all been brought up to the levels required by the (understandable) extra weight.
BMW also offers training programs enabling drivers to handle the vehicle appropriately in compromised situations.
Building in the security features during vehicle production clearly is a better way than adding them later. Armoured X5s are built alongside regular production models at BMW’s Spartanburg plant in the US, while the security features come from a “specialist workforce" at the company’s plant in Toluca, Mexico.
For a bit less, BMW has also developed a milder X5 Security version that meets security level VR4 and is intended as a protection against general street crime.
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