Remember that scene in Captain America: The Winter Soldier where Hydra agents disguised as police tried to murder Nick Fury on a DC street. Luckily for Fury, his armored SUV kept hydra at bay.
If you’re in the market for that level of protection as you head out to the grocery store for milk, BMW has you covered with the release of an armor-plated version of its X5 SUV, the X5 Protection VR6, to help defend against drone, explosive and automatic rifle attacks.
Designed to be nearly indistinguishable to the standard X5, the Protection VR6 won’t attract any extra attention. High-strength steel panels are molded into the doors, side frame, roof and front wall. The windshield, side windows and rear window feature 1.1-inch-thick safety glass with splinter protect against bullet or fragment penetration from high calibre weapons like the AK-47. Armor-plated undercarriage can absorb hand grenade blasts and a roof option will protect against drone attacks from up above. Runflat tires with reinforced sidewalls will keep you moving even with air pressure loss.
All that armor doesn’t slow down the X5 Protection VR6. Its 4.4-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 engine cranks out 523 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque, pushing it from 0 to 62 mph in 5.9 seconds, with a top speed of 130 mph.
No word from BMW on when the X5 Protection VR6 will be available for purchase. As for pricing, BMW hasn’t release details, but the non-armored X5 M50i, starts at $83k, so expect to pay a few thousand above that.
