PM Abbott's bulletproof BMWs are go

A fleet of nine BMW 7 Series High Security cars priced at around $550,000 each have been pressed into official Australian Government service for Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Designed to keep the Australian PM and other high-ranking officials out of harm's way, the V12-powered luxury limousines are now being used for official duties. They replace an ageing fleet of armoured Holden Caprice vehicles.

Earlier this week PM Abbott was ferried to the Prime Minister's XI cricket match in the bulletproof BMW limo, which can withstand semi-automatic rifle fire, notably AK-47 rounds and bomb blasts.

Based on the BMW 760Li, the 7 Series Protection models are indistinguishable from regular models from the outside, BMW claims. But with 60mm thick bulletproof glass, 10mm of extra steel-plating inside the doors, a self-sealing fuel tank, the car adds an extra 1500kg over the regular vehicle's already lardy 2175kg kerb mass.

Each side window is so heavy, at 150kg each, that the motor required to power them up and down requires its own nuclear power plant... Well, not quite, but you get the idea.

The vehicles built by BMW at its Dingolfing plant in Germany are certified to a security rating of VR7 for the glass, and VR9 for the metal plating around its body. That is slightly inferior to the VR9 glass rating of the Mercedes-Benz S 600 Guard put to use ferrying dignitaries to and fro for the recent G20 summit in Brisbane. 

Even if the BMW's V12 engine takes a hit, its designed to operate for another 80km without lubricants or coolants, and the Michelin tyres have a secondary 'tyre within a tyre' so the car won't be slowed when it wheels are shot at.

Upgraded brakes and suspension are necessary to cope with the extra weight and it's not known whether the PM has specified the Bang & Olufsen premium stereo with his cars.

As part of the $6.3 million contract with BMW to supply the cars, government drivers have been trained by BMW instructors in advanced driving techniques to avoid capture or harm.

Controversy surrounded the acquisition of the new BMW limousines by the Australian government in the lead up to the renewal of the government fleet contract after it was reported that Holden decided not to bid for the armoured car project.

Other heads of state around the world drive home-grown armoured limousines. Barack Obama, President of the USA, is chauffeured around in a seven tonne Cadillac limo that is rumoured to carry litres of the President's blood type and is known in Secret Service circles as 'The Beast'.

In the UK, PM David Cameron gets ferried around in an armoured Jaguar XJ. The supercharged 5.0-litre V8 limo is said to have a tear gas system designed to quell unpleasant crowds.

Vladimir Putin, Russian President, is looking at getting a new fleet of limousines by Porsche Design.

Pictures are indicative only.