Thursday 24th November 2005

Jag releases armoured car

New bullet-proof XJ can protect you from...?

---

Jaguar Armoured XJ Long Wheelbase

Got enemies -- and we mean serious enemies? Jaguar's got the answer in the Armoured XJ Long Wheelbase -- its first ever armoured passenger vehicle. The company reckoned the new car "has capabilities far and beyond the needs of day to day transportation with added security, without compromising the ability of the car".

Costing from £199,000 and designed in concert with armoured vehicle specialist Centigon, it offers protection from firearms and blast attack, robbery, kidnap and car jacking. Jag predicted that it "will become the car of choice for heads of state, high profile business people, diplomats and celebrities throughout the world."

You're unlikely to notice the difference from the outside, and Jag won't unveil many specifics for security reasons but modifications include:

• Laminated glazing -- bullet resistant borosilicate glazing is designed to withstand a comprehensive range of hand guns and assault rifles.
• Underbody protection
• Armour -- the armoured body shell is reinforced with ballistic resistant steel and underfloor protection is provided by high-tech Kevlar fibre material. It's designed to prevent penetration of the passenger cell by shrapnel or blast fragments.
• Run flat tyres -- these allow the car to travel safely up to 30 miles at speeds of 50 mph when punctured or deflated.
• Other security features include a tamper-proof exhaust, intercom system, self sealing fuel tank, cabin with its own oxygen supply and a titanium armoured roof.

Chassis and dynamics

The chassis has been adapted to compensate for the additional weight and a potentially more aggressive driving style with reinforced springs and dampers -- though you lose the air suspension in favour of standard steel springs as a result. The car gets strengthened and tuned Bilstein B46 dampers and bespoke Eibach springs manufactured from ultra strength silicon alloy -- a combination tuned to optimise the balance between ride, comfort and body control, according to Jaguar.

A retuned variable assisted steering system with an increased pressure flow power steering pump realigns the increased mass of the armoured vehicle to the steering effort inputs of the driver. The car is also fitted with opposed six-pot Alcon mono-block brake callipers to the front of the vehicle and four-pot callipers to the rear, along with performance friction material brake pads and larger ventilated discs for improved braking performance.

Accreditation

The vehicle has undergone extensive ballistic and blast testing by the independent test agency QinetiQ -- which used to be the MOD's research agency -- and has been accredited to European standard EN 1063 levels BR5 & BR6.

Jaguar's new global aftersales support programme includes support in remote territories, including four scheduled visits per year by a Jaguar technician. Owners of the armoured XJ are offered tailored armoured driver training programmes, helping them to understand the differences in vehicle handling characteristics that such a high level of protection brings with it.

And you can always get Jaguar to add protection to your specification, as long as your credit limit will stretch to it. So when you call the car bullet-proof, you'll mean it...

[dvs_dave]

Waste of time getting an armoured car that isn't 4 wheel drive. When in an ambush situation for example, often the best way of escape involves a bit of off road driving. I'd like to see this heavy weight try and negotiate a soft verge whilst accelerating hard around an obstruction in the road.

Mercedes 4-matic equipped armoured cars make much more sense and will do a far better job of getting you out of the sh1t.