Are you extremely unpopular? Are your teenage offspring about to start driving? If you answered yes to either of these questions, you need the new armored Volvo XC90. The XC90 was already the safest car in the world, with zero recorded occupant fatalities. But the armored version takes it a step further.
For one, it is armored to VR8 level by German armouring specialist, Trasco Bremen. This means it can take hits from 7.62mm, armor-piercing rounds from a sniper rifle. It is also explosion-resistant, being able to survive 15kg of TNT exploding next to it, or having grenades go off underneath or above the car. The glass alone is 2 inches thick- probably thicker than the doors on a Yugo. The door hinges have been toughened to deal with all the extra weight, as have the brakes and suspension. And it does all this while looking like a regular, run-of-the-mill, soccer-mom SUV.
Other features? Volvo aren’t going into much detail for security reasons, but there is an emergency exit behind the middle of the rear seat. There’s also a fire suppression system hidden in the engine bay, so your teenager is fine if they hit a Tesla.
If you’re thinking that all this sounds heavy, you’d be correct. The armored XC90 is based on the T6 AWD version, which is normally 4663 lbs. The armor alone weighs. 3086lbs, bringing the total weight to 9899 lbs.
With all that weight, you’d hope there is a big, powerful engine under the hood, right? Being based on the T6 AWD, it just has a 2 liter engine with both a turbocharger and a supercharger, which makes 316 hp. In a vehicle that weighs significantly more than a Humvee, that’s nothing. The VR10-rated Mercedes-Maybach S600 Guard has 530 hp, and more than double the torque.
With most of these likely to be sold in Latin America, Europe, and presumably South Africa, its unlikely that it will be stocked at your local Volvo dealer. But if your commute goes through a particularly rough part of town, it could be just what you need.
