Q-Branch style armoured cars go into production
17-Jul-2003 • Bond News
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Ford Motor Co.`s new Lincoln Town Car BPS - the BPS stands for Ballistic Protection Series - will be available in late summer for $140,000. The armor-covered vehicle is designed to provide protection from powerful handgun and high-powered rifle blasts.
Mark Bentley, the product marketing manager for Lincoln`s Town Car, said he and other executives who were pushing the project encountered numerous skeptics until the terror attacks.
"Suddenly, they said, `We understand the need for this vehicle,`" Bentley said.
Until now, armored vehicles in the United States were products of what are known as aftermarket companies, businesses which take assembly line-made cars and customize them with armor and other features. Popular choices for armoring include the Ford Crown Victoria, Chevrolet Suburban and, more recently, the Hummer H2, made by GM.
The cost of armoring a car can range from $30,000 to $300,000 on top of the sticker price, depending on what features are included.
Leaders in the overseas armored car market include Mercedes-Benz and BMW, which introduced the 760Li High Security at this month`s Geneva International Motor Show. The car can be hermetically sealed and supply passengers with oxygen in the event of a gas attack.
However, a BMW spokesman said the company no longer sells armored vehicles in the United States because of limited demand and costs associated with meeting federal motoring regulations.
Mercedes-Benz sells an S500 sedan in the U.S. that can withstand shots from a .44-caliber Magnum. Spokesman Rob Allan said the German automaker sells fewer than 100 of the $156,000 cars in the states annually, most of them to business executives concerned about becoming targets of random violence.
To start, Ford plans to make 300 of the ballistic Town Cars, which will be sold by a limited number of Lincoln dealers. Production will take place at the Wixom, Michigan, manufacturing plant; the cars will then be shipped to International Armoring Corp. in Utah for outfitting.
Ford will use a heavier limousine chassis, which is capable of handling 7,500 pounds (3,375 kilograms) of total weight, for the BPS cars. A regular Town Car weighs some 4,300 pounds (1,935 kilograms); the armored vehicle will weigh 6,200 pounds (2,790 kilograms), which the company estimates will decrease fuel efficiency by 20 percent.
The cars will be loaded with lightweight bullet-resistant plates of ballistic steel. Underneath, a thick blanket of synthetic fibers will provide limited blast protection.
Yet the vehicles will look like any other new Town Car on the road.
"The first line of defense for anyone at risk is discretion," said Lincoln spokesman John Jraiche. "We`ve developed this product with the right blend of luxury, security and discretion."
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