Presents : the Mercedes
S500 available now for delivery !
If you answered
yes to any of these questions, then you might need a more secure form of
personal transportation . You need something big . This should be a vehicle that you could trust to protect yourself and your family (or other blue-suited government types with sunglasses permanently attached to their heads). You need a vehicle that can stop attacks ranging from sledgehammer blows to .44 Magnum rounds. You need, in fact, a Mercedes-Benz S500 . In the picture: An S500 Guard undergoing ballistic testing. Notice the pinpoint shots at the door and window seams. |
The S500 Guard
is Mercedes' first official factory-offered armored car to be available to
the U.S. public. The Factory has fully integrate the armored components into the car. Specialized technicians are responsible for installing all of the upgraded and armored components. As such, Mercedes says the effectively hand-built S500 Guard takes five times longer to build than a regular S500. Aftermarket security companies often have to start with a regular production car, meaning they have to disassemble the vehicle completely, install the armored components and then put the car back together. |
Mercedes outfits the S500 Guard with a variety of components
to make sure it meets B4 certification (equivalent to the U.S NIJ level
IIIA) Extensive steel armor plating is used for the entire occupant shell,
including the doors, the A-, B- and C-pillars, the roof, the firewall and the
rear bulkhead. Armoring prevents bullets from passing through door locks and the
gaps where the doors are shut. On the doors where metal adjoins window glass, a
meticulously tested labyrinth system prevents bullets from entering the cabin.
The windows themselves are composed of thick multi-layer polycarbonate security
glass that does not splinter when hit or shot at. The glass is amazingly
distortion free, and looks completely like normal glass until you power down the
front windows and see that they are about 1 inch thick. Additional security
upgrades include run-flat tires with a tire pressure warning system and an
optional self-sealing fuel tank that resists fuel leaks when punctured by
small-arms fire. To compensate for the additional weight that the armoring adds,
the S500 Guard has reinforced suspension components and upgraded brakes.
Because of the aforementioned purpose of being an escape vehicle and not a tank,
Mercedes does not provide armor protection for the engine or the trunk. The S500
Guard weighs 802 pounds more than a regular S500, a weight equal to carrying
four or five adult occupants. Mercedes says more weight would degrade handling
and acceleration too much. Additionally, it is highly unlikely a bullet fired
into the engine compartment would disable the engine immediately.
The rest of the S500 Guard is surprisingly stock. In fact, from the outside, it
is exceptionally hard to tell the difference between a regular S500 and the
Guard edition. External dimensions and body panel styling between the two are
nearly identical. About the only cues are the Guard's special wheels for the
run-flat tires and its lack of a sunroof. No sunroof is offered on the Guard
because it is considered too much of a security risk. Tele Aid, Mercedes'
emergency calling system, is standard equipment.
To see if all of these additions changed the S500's character, we were given a
chance to briefly compare an S500 to an S500 Guard. If you open the doors, the
additional heft of the steel armor is quickly apparent. But once safe and snug
inside the cabin, the Guard seems exactly the same as any other S-Class. All of
the trim and controls are the same. In terms of handling, the Guard simply feels
stiffer and heavier. It does not roll excessively, and ride quality is still
quite acceptable. Mercedes says that the S500 Guard's additional weight adds
about one second to its zero-to-60 mph acceleration time and about 5 feet to its
60-to-zero mph braking time. The car's top speed is still 130 mph.
Price : $143,000 Delivered
Contact : in the U.S 1-800-770-4423 or international : 1-310-704-1528