To Russia with love: Jaguar XJ Sentinel
State-of-the-art armoured Jag limo set for world debut at upcoming Moscow motor showNo purveyor of luxo-limo line-up these days is complete without the mandatory armoured versions -- pitched at political dignitaries, business tycoons based in crime-ridden countries and so forth.
Jaguar will (perhaps aptly) use the upcoming Moscow motor show to whip the covers off its weapons-grade XJ Sentinel, which allegedly provides its occupants with protection from grenades and even 15kg of TNT.
The XJ Sentinel is equipped with a purpose-built armouring system constructed from specialised high strength steels with Kevlar backing, but there's not too much more technical detail provided by the company (clearly, they don't want to give would-be assassins any clever ideas).
The armoured inner cell was engineered in partnership with Centigon, a leading global specialist in vehicle armouring, enabling the XJ Sentinel to offer blast protection, substantial under-floor grenade protection and ballistic protection up to B7 levels (which covers handguns, assault rifles and even armour-piercing weaponry).
To ensure that the armouring meets the latest national and international standards, it has been certified by QinetiQ, a globally recognised independent blast and ballistic testing organisation.
Propulsion comes from Jaguar's 283kW/515Nm naturally aspirated 5.0-litre V8, but given that the Sentinel weighs a portly 3300kg, the edge has been taken off performance somewhat; it accelerates to 100km/h in a leisurely 9.7sec and maxes out at 195km/h.
The Adaptive Dynamics system with continuously variable dampers has been uprated to cope with the armoured car's added bulk, but payload is restricted to 500kg, which means it can still carry four occupants, provided they're not sumo wrestlers.
The car rides on strengthened 19-inch Aleutian alloy wheels shod with Dunlop run-flat tyres, while stopping power is provided by a high-performance braking system (sourced from the Supercharged XJ).
The Sentinel retains full functionality of the standard XJ restraint system, which includes front, side and curtain airbags.
Despite its bespoke specification, the XJ Sentinel comes with a three-year 80,000km factory warranty, along with comprehensive after-sales support from specialised technicians.
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