The hand built Range Rover Sentinel by JLR’s SVO division has VR8 level certification offering ballistic and blast resistance, able to withstand armour piercing rounds and grenade attacks.
While SUVs even the most luxurious may be brutish in appearance, armoured ones are quite a few. However, given the popularity of the body style today, it only makes sense to offer more of these as they command an intimidating presence and protection levels of nothing less than a tank. Using the same guidelines, it is Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) division that have showcased their newest creation the ‘Range Rover Sentinel’, the first armoured Land Rover completely designed and engineered within SVO.
The Range Rover Sentinel is based on the standard wheelbase Range Rover Autobiography edition and offers VR8 level certification designed to withstand penetration by 7.62 mm high velocity, armour-piercing bullets. The armoured SUV delivers lateral protection against up to 15kg of Trinitrotoluene (TNT) blasts and against DM51 grenade explosions from beneath the floor and above the roof, thanks to the specially developed six-part armoured passenger core cell made out of super strength steel.
Further, the Range Rover Sentinel gets multi-laminated armour privacy glass, while protection levels are enhanced by anti-tamper exhaust, auxiliary backup battery, a split charging system and a self-sealing fuel tank. Discretion levels are at the optimum as the driver window gets a 100 mm opening for document delivery. The armoured SUV rides on run flat inserts in tyres that allow the vehicle to be driven even if the tyres are deflated. Still not satisfied? Don’t worry, JLR is providing optional protection features like the under floor and under bonnet fire suppression systems, customer configurable siren system, emergency service lights and an external speaker system to address people outside the vehicle.
With the massive hike in weight, the SVO division has upgraded the suspension setup on the Sentinel in order to offer the same ride comfort and handling capabilities as the standard version. Braking performance has been uprated with 380 mm front and 365 mm rear ventilated discs with high-density pads. The automaker also says that you can off-road in the armoured Range Rover. In terms of power, a 3.0-litre V6 supercharged petrol motor producing 340 PS rests under the hood, paired to an 8-speed automatic transmission. Priced at $4,45,380 (Rs. 2.98 crores excluding taxes) in the UK, the armoured Range Rover is available on order in markets including Europe, South America, Africa and the Middle East.
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