Turn an S‑Class into a tank for £465k

It’s the latest in a line of armoured Mercs that dates back to the bulletproof Nürburg 460 model of 1928. That was the first time a car company began factory-fitting saloons with protective features to shield the occupants from gunshots and explosives. Mercs have been saving the skin of heads of state and business leaders for 93 years. And with this new ultimate S-Class will go on doing so, the world alas being just as dangerous as it ever was. With this new S680 Guard model, though, protection levels go through the roof (to coin a phrase). 

It’s a tank of a thing, but the reason it doesn’t look like a tank – in most ways being indistinguishable from a regular S-Class – is a new way of building it. Instead of using a standard bodyshell and strengthening it as before, the new Guard model gets a specific bodyshell which has all protective elements already integrated. This vehicle “core” gets an outer skin of standard looking S-Class aluminium panels, ensuring its inconspicuous appearance.

So how good is it at resisting the assassin’s bullet or terrorists’ bomb? Mercedes says it’s as safe as any series-production civilian vehicle can get. It meets the highest ballistic test level for bullet-resistant vehicles. The body and windows can withstand fire from an assault rifle using armour-piercing ammunition. Roof, floor and sides pass the latest tests for explosive-resistant vehicles with maximum points. 

Mercedes knows all this because it recruited some very special guinea pigs to test it out. These were biofidelic dummies – the kind of crash-test dummies with bone and soft tissue-like construction in silicone and acrylic that can accurately reflect how a real human body would respond. They apparently emerged unscathed after a hail of bullets and bombs.

Some other neat life-saving secrets of this mighty Merc include an emergency fresh air system (to protect against gas attack), hydraulic, not electric windows (they’ll work even if power fails), multi-layer sandwich glass with an anti-splinter coating, Michelin PAX run-flat tyres, and an automatic fire extinguisher system. The car also comes with electro-mechanical operation for opening and closing the (very heavy) doors – one benefit of this being to allow bodyguards to keep one hand free.

Options? What else but a range of sirens, flashing lights, radios and panic alarm systems. One thing you can’t get? A sunroof…

What comes as standard for the first time on a V12 S-Class is all-wheel-drive, one reason Mercedes says it handles more like a regular model. Performance is down though, despite the 6.0-litre V12 under the bonnet with its 612PS and 830Nm (614lb-ft); the top speed is just 118mph. 

All this – plus a load of regular S-Class comfort and luxury – can be yours for €457,100 plus tax. For what it offers, that’s surely a drop in the ocean for the people who perhaps literally might not be able to live without it.