Sometimes it’s not enough to travel in style, for some of the world’s richest, most powerful and famous individuals, style often has to be combined with security. Check out our top 5 picks of the toughest road vehicles that have been created to protect their occupants.
5: The Popemobile
When it comes to his Holiness, serious protective power is called for. Enter the Popemobile. First used by Pope John Paul in 1976 to greet crowds and still remain visible, the Popemobile has gone through a number of iterations. The current Mercedes Benz M-Class has many important modifications to keep his Holiness safe, including bullet-proof glass along with defences against more esoteric attacks. The vehicle has its own oxygen supply, countering gas or chemical-based attacks as well as reinforced side panels and undercarriage to ward off the worst effects of bomb blasts. You thought you spent heaps on mods, the Pope has spent $613,000 on his baby!
4: Conquest Knight
Often referred to as the Hummer Killer, the Conquest Knight XV is insane, relying on hardened steel panels with Kevlar-fiberglass fenders and bumpers to absorb heavy impacts. It runs forged rims (6061 aluminium) and you’re unlikely to get a flat in this beast (visit Tyresales for further details on how resistant high quality tyres can be).
3: Cadillac One
Cadillac One is Barack Obama’s personal set of wheels when he’s out and about. Actual specs are pretty vague, but we do know that it’s completely sealed with its own oxygen supply and the trunk contains a special blood bank matching the president’s blood type in the event that a transfusion is necessary.
The vehicle known as “The Beast” by the president’s Secret Service has a whole heap of countermeasures and defences to keep the leader of the free world in complete safety.
2: The Tumbler
Yeah, so this has been made purely for the big screen, but the Tumbler from the Christopher Nolan Batman movie series definitely deserves a place in our list. With HM 5-litre Vauxhall engines including jet engine boosters, this bat car is the real deal.
The Tumbler has been replicated by a variety of fanatical Batman fans, one particular effort ran up costs of US$1.6 million. Considering there’s currently a hireable Batmobile being driven around Sydney roads, we’re pretty excited about potentially snapping necks by driving one of these on our streets one day in future.
1: Paramount Marauder
Top Gear Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDoRmT0iRic
The big daddy. Forget Hummers, the Marauder is the ultimate military-spec vehicle available for civilians to purchase, provided that you’ve got over half a million AUS dollars to spare! As Richard Hammond from Top Gear demonstrates, the Marauder will happily plough through brick walls without a scratch. Negotiating through difficult off-road terrain (or even over other vehicles) is a breeze thanks to its gigantic wheels.
The Marauder’s windows are 90mm thick and are capable of shrugging off a direct hit from an RPG (!) and as the video’s climactic finale shows, the Marauder can drive away after 7 pounds of plastic explosives have been denoted on its underside, with no harm done except for one burst tyre!