New Land Rover Absolutely Bulletproof

Do you live in a challenging neighborhood, like, say, Afghanistan, Sudan, Downtown Detroit, or St. Louis? Then you’ll like Land Rover’s latest offering: The new Discovery 4 Armored, a car impervious to road rage of all kinds.

Well, it’s actually the old Discovery, or LR4 as it is called in North America, but this one “enables occupants to travel across challenging terrains in confidence and safety,” says John Graham, Commercial Manager Armored Programs, Land Rover.

The car was designed in cooperation with Centigon, a division of the Belgian Carat Duchatelet group, which specializes in armored vehicles of all types. Looking from the outside deceptively like a LR4, the car comes with ballistic steel armor plating and stops bullets before they kill you. 30 pounds of TNT detonated nearby? This car will shrug it off. A couple of hand grenades tossed under the car? It will ignore them.

There is one golden rule in the personal protection business: Absence of body is better than presence of mind. A 375hp 5.0-litre LR-V8 direct-injection gasoline engine, combined with a six-speed automatic transmission can swiftly extract the car from iffy situations. Despite impressive (but undisclosed) heft, that strongbox on wheel accelerates from 0 to 60 in 10.6 seconds. One push of the pedal, and Osama will eat dust.

Covert lights and siren, flashing headlamps, and an under-hood fire suppressant system can be had as added extras. According to auto123, “interior appointments still include premium leather upholstery on the seats and sumptuous real wood veneers.”

We will try to obtain a press car to be tested under realistic conditions.