Prime Minister Narendra Modi was recently spotted in the new Maybach 650 Guard, an upgrade from the Range Rover Vogue and the Toyota Land Cruiser that he used so far. The armoured car made its way to Delhi's Hyderabad House as the occasion marked welcoming the President of Russia Vladimir Putin. The vehicle, with VR10-level protection, was spotted once again in Prime Minister convoy, report on the carandbike portal said.
During his tenure as the Gujarat chief minister, PM Modi travelled in a bulletproof Mahindra Scorpio and later as the Prime Minister in 2014, he used BMW 7 Series High-Security Edition. Now, it has called in for an upgrade to Mercedes-Maybach S650 Guard.
According to carandbike, the Mercedes-Maybach S 650 Guard offers the highest level of armoured protection available on a production car. The saloon can withstand bullets thanks to the upgraded windows and body shell and can take an assault from AK-47 rifles.
As per reported information, the car's windows are coated with polycarbonate and can withstand hardened steel core bullets. Not just that, the vehicle also boasts of an Explosive Resistant Vehicle (ERV) 2010 rating and the occupants are promised protected from a 15kg TNT explosion from a distance of only 2 metres. The cabin of the four-wheeler also comes with a separate air supply in case of a gas attack.
"The request for a new car is usually put up by the Special Protection Group or SPG, which is responsible for safeguarding the PM. The SPG identifies the security requirements and then takes the decision if the state head requires a vehicle upgrade. The SPG orders two identical cars; the second vehicle is used as a decoy. Each vehicle costs about ₹ 12 crore," read reports.
