Posted on Tuesday 15 May 2007
When it comes to armored cars we’ve seen everything from Rolls Royce Phantoms to Range Rover SUVs, but the most recognized armored vehicle is the Mercedes Benz S600 Guard. That’s fine if you just want protection, but Renntech boss Hartmut Feyhl soon realized that the heavy bulk of the vehicle still left it vulnerable to attack.
“No matter how much armor you have,” explains Feyhl, “armor just buys you time to escape. You can’t just sit there waiting for the bad guys to run out of bullets - and a thousand pounds of armor doesn’t make it any easier to outrun the bad guys, either.”
The result is a special armored version of the S600 developed in collaboration with Renntech and INKAS, a security company that builds armored vehicles and bank safes.
“We looked at the situation together, with the idea that, if you or your family are in danger, you really have only a few seconds to escape,” offers Feyhl, “any car could benefit from tuning in that situation, of course - but an armored car especially. It needs more power and better cooling to accelerate away from danger, and better brakes and suspension to handle that extra weight during cornering and defensive driving maneuvers.”
To improve performance and handling, Renntech improved the brakes, employing a 15.2″ two-piece front and 14″ rear brake package. Under the hood, RENNtech’s ECU software, carbon-fiber airbox, and intercooler pump upgrades keep the temperature cool and the turbos spooled. The changes result in the engine developing a Murcielago-rivaling 640hp and over 775 lb-ft of torque.
Apart from the basic armoring, the car is fitted with run-flat tyres so it can remain drivable even when the wheels have been punctured.
I don’t think that this approach is the best way of doing this. You would probably be better off by getting a factory-armored S600 Guard that has been built from the ground up as an armored vehicle at Mercedes’ dedicated armoring production line. That car is not only certified by the relevant ballistic authorities but comes with full factory warranty and has undergone normal crash tests. If the standard engine is not powerful enough, have it tuned by the performance company of your choice, by house-tuner AMG, Brabus or Renntech if you prefer. Tuning an armored car is much easier than armoring a tuned car.
The only reason I could see for getting the Renntech/Ikarus version would be that Ikarus Armoring offers “up to B7″ protection on its website, whereas the factory S600 Guard is only certified for B6/B7 level, usually meaning that the ballistic windows are only B6, the steel in chassis and doors being B7. But that’s enough for 95% of the world’s heads-of-state (its the same for factory armored Audi and BMW) so if you feel you are in greater danger, well, better hide in a nuclear shelter instead of driving around town.
AJ
S600 Guard is not built as an armored vehicle from the ground up. It is still based on a standard S600 and it is also subject to a specific warranty which differs from one supplied for regular automobiles. Having the engine tuned, can result in complete void of the warranty so customer is stuck with getting “whats available” from the factory.
Each INKAS/Renntech S600 is custom tailored to the buyer and exceeds protection and performance offered by OEM at half the price, and that is the real reason for getting the Renntech/INKAS S600. Both Renntech and INKAS have impeccable track records in their industries and we are excited to be able to join forces in production of this vehicle. More information about INKAS and RENNTECH is available on our websites.
www.inkasarmored.com
www.renntechmercedes.com
Thank you very much for the clarification Mr. Paul K., I haven’t looked at your offering from that perspective. As I understand it the advantage of an OEM-armored car is the use of special strengthened chassis and armor integration in the production process to counter the long term stress of the added weight especially with higher protection classes. I have seen on the INKAS-website that the company is basically offering any vehicle in up to B7-protection. I would like to congratulate you in overcoming the challenges of heavily armoring even “lighter” vehicles (like Mercedes E-Class) and hope that you have solved any issues of longevity attributed to after-market integration of full B7-armor.
AJ