PM Narendra Modi has recently added a heavily armoured Mercedes-Maybach to his convoy, the vehicle is an upgrade from the former Range Rover Vogue and the Toyota Land Cruiser that he had been using until recently.
His first appearance in the new Maybach S650 Guard was at Hyderabad House earlier this month when he met Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Mercedes-Maybach S 650 Guard provides the highest level of armoured protection available in a production car. The Maybach S 650 Guard arrives with VR10-level protection. The car can withstand bullets and can take assaults from AK-47 rifles.
The luxury sedan which was globally unveiled in 2019 was not officially launched in India. The previous Maybach S600 was launched in India in 2016 at a whopping ex-showroom price of 10.50 crores. The PM's new car's price has not been disclosed, the price varies as to how it is customised. The expected cost however is around Rs 12 crore to Rs 15 crore approximately without including the taxes.
The car is able to protect it's occupants from a 15 kilogram TNT blast of just two meters which gets the sedan an Explosive Resistant Vehicle (ERV) 2010 rating, the car also has polycarbonate coated windows. The under-body which has been heavily armoured can protect from a direct explosion. The passenger cabin also gets a separate air supply in case of a gas attack.
Mercedes-Maybach S 650 Guard is driven by a 6.0-litre twin-turbo V12 engine that develops 516 bhp and about 900 Nm of peak torque. The top speed is restricted to 160 Kmph. In addition, the car is equipped with run-flat tyres, ensuring a quick getaway in case of damage or puncture.
It is the Special Protection Group or the SPG that makes requests for the new vehicles to be added to the PM'S cavalcade. The SPG identifies the security requirements and takes the decision to upgrade the vehicles, the SPG acquire two identical cars and uses one as a decoy.
Over the years, Prime Minister Modi has moved from a bulletproof Mahindra Scorpio that he used as Gujarat Chief Minister, to a BMW 7 Series High-Security Edition, a Land Rover Range Rover Vogue and a Toyota Land Cruiser.