Narendra Modi Cars – Scorpio To Range Rover Sentinel [Video]

We take a look at some of the interesting features that are equipped in the PM’s cars.

Narendra Modi Cars

Today’s video is about the cars that are used by one of the most important persons in India. You may like him, you may dislike him but you definitely cannot ignore him. Yes I’m talking about Narendra Modi and in this video I’ll tell you some interesting things about the cars that are used in his convoy.

Narendra Modi’s political journey goes a long way and when he was the CM of Gujarat, he was driven around in a Mahindra Scorpio and his Scorpio was followed by some more Scorpios full of bodyguards and security personnel. When he was elected as the 15th PM of India in 2014, he was driven to the Rashtrapati Bhavan in his Scorpio. Anand Mahindra even wrote to the PM asking him to use the Scorpio as his official vehicle

However, it is not the PM, but the Special Protection Group (SPG) that decides what car will be used by the PM and President. The SPG chose the BMW 760Li High Security Edition which was chosen during Dr. Manmohan Singh’s tenure and this car looks similar to the 745Li but obviously delivers much more power. The vehicle gets some exclusive security features. The car gets a 6.0-litre V12 engine making 544 HP but because it is so heavy and loaded with safety tech, it does 0-100 km/hr in 7.5 seconds

The BMW 760Li High Security is based on the previous generation 7-Series (F01/F02) and it offers the highest available ballistic protection levels. This car comes with an oxygen tank which comes in handy when there is some attack on the car, like a gas attack. This car gets 20-inch run-flat tyres and a self-sealing fuel tank. The bodyshell is modified to withstand armoured attacks and the windows are 6 cms thick! The vehicle can ward off attacks from handguns of upto 0.44 calibre while even attacks from weapons like the AK47 cannot filter through the car. These High Security cars are also capable of withstanding grenade attacks!

These High Security vehicles are specially manufactured and people who operate and drive these cars need to undergo professional training by BMW which helps them understand the different features and also what to do in an emergency. These drivers are trained to drive in sophisticated escape manoeuvres, reverse slaloms, and even do tactical turns in double formation. The BMW 7-Series is dynamically very sorted. The convoy has more than 10 years which includes bomb detection squads too. There used to be old X5 in the convoy earlier too.

Now, the PM doesn’t use the 7-Series anymore. For some time, he was spotted using a 2010 Range Rover but now he uses a new Range Rover Sentinel while his convoy comprises of a lot of Toyota Fortuners, a couple of Tata Safaris and the Toyota Land Cruiser too.

The Sentinel is developed by Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations unit. It is stylish, powerful, large, and can do a good amount of off-roading too. This car comes with armoured glass which meets VR8 and PAS 300 standards, a protection cell which meets ERV standards and keeps passengers safe at all times, blast protection for the roof & underbody, and fragmentation protection which protects the car from modern forms of attack. This car also gets an emergency escape system which helps people escape from the boot if the doors are unusable. The fragmentation protection has been tested by positioning a powerful mine on the side of the car and behind the front wheel. This car also gets run-flat tyres which can be used for 50 kms at speeds upto 80 km/hr.

The Range Rover Sentinel is powered by a 5.0-litre V8 supercharged petrol engine making 550 horses. It comes with a public address system which the occupant can use to communicate with someone outside the car. You get blue covert lights at the front and rear and white emergency lights too. There is a configurable siren system too. The driver’s side window can be opened upto 150 mm for delivery of documents while an opening passenger door window is optional. Some other interesting optional features are high intensity 360-degree lights, escape hood respirator, battery conditioner charger, front airbag isolation switch and under bonnet & under floor fire suppressant system. Also, these cars come with a lot more features which aren’t disclosed for obvious reasons!

You get 12 colour options for the exterior and 4 options for the interior but most people buy the black coloured version only. The Range Rover Sentinel should cost somewhere between Rs. 12-15 crores (on-road) in India because it is fully imported. The regular Range Rover 5.0 SVAutobiography used to cost somewhere near Rs. 5-6 crores but now the 5.0-litre engine has been discontinued in India and the SV gets a 3.0-litre engine.