The Prime Minister of India is entitled to maximum security available in the country. And PM Modi’s new Mercedes-Maybach S 650 offers the highest level of armoured protection available on a production car. All this, with a touch of class.
It’s swanky, it’s new and it is very suave. The PM’s new Mercedes-Maybach S650 has grabbed all eyeballs since it was first spotted at Hyderabad House while welcoming President Putin, and then again recently. It has everything that spells class. But that’s not all. As the PM is among the most heavily protected leaders, not just in the country but across the world, his new vehicle offers the highest level of armoured protection available on a car.
As per reports, PM’s new car has upgraded windows coated with polycarbonate and an improved body shell that can withstand hardened steel core bullets and take an assault from AK-47 rifles. Further, it boasts of an Explosive Resistant Vehicle (ERV) 2010 rating. This means those in the car are safe and protected from a 15kg TNT explosion, even two metres from the vehicle. The fuel tank is coated with a special material that seals the holes automatically after a hit — the same material that Boeing uses for its AH-64 Apache tank attack helicopters.
If assailants thought of a gas attack, worry not. This swanky machinery can even handle that. The cabin in the car receives a separate air supply to handle such adversities. It also comes equipped with special run-flat tyres that will continue to function in the event of damage or puncture, to ensure a quick getaway.
Now coming to the performance. It is fitted with a 6.0-litre twin-turbo V12 engine that develops 516 BHP and about 900 Nm of peak torque. It can cruise smoothly at 160 kmph. And needless to say, it has a luxurious interior replete with all the comforts that the standard Maybach S-Class can provide. If media reports are to go by, the interiors of PM’s new car also have a seat massager and offer increased legroom for passengers.
At all this, it does cost the nation an arm and a leg — certainly not Rs 12 crore as reported in the media. If sources are to go by, the actual cost is a third of the price doing rounds on social media. Two such cars were bought for the Prime Minister. And before the naysayers launch off on the need for such luxury, allow us to clarify that this is not an upgrade but a routine replacement. The PM earlier used a Range Rover Vogue, Toyota Land Cruiser and a BMW car. However, since BMW stopped making the model that was used previously, this one was a necessity rather than a luxury.
The PM’s Special Protection Group (SPG) security detail has a policy of replacing the vehicles used for the protectee every six years. PM Modi’s earlier cars were used for eight years. According to sources, a security audit had flagged this and raised concerns that it was weakening the security and compromising life of the protectee. Sources in the know further confirmed that PM Modi did not give any preference on which cars to use, and left it to his security czars to decide. This is quite unlike Congress chief Sonia Gandhi who used Range Rovers that were bought for former PM Dr Manmohan Singh.
The Prime Minister of India needs maximum security possible for the profile and position and is the only SPG protectee in the country, as a matter of fact. And rightly so. The new Mercedes-Maybach S 650 Guard fits the bill by offering the highest level of protection available on a production car.
