Called S600 Guard, the bullet-proof sedan is nearly identical to a stock S-Class when viewed from the outside but it features several hundred pounds’ worth of armor under the skin. The sedan boasts steel plating all around the passenger compartment, run-flat tires and a four-inch thick windshield that tips the scale at nearly 300 pounds.
In its most heavily armored configuration the S can protect occupants from gun shots, hand grenades and a wide range of military weapons. Buyers who are only marginally concerned about their own safety can order the sedan with less armor.
Power comes from the same 6.0-liter V12 engine found in the standard S600. Mercedes has not revealed if it has upgraded the 530-horsepower engine to cope with the extra weight added by the body armor.
The S600 Guard is built entirely by hand because Mercedes believes its construction is too complicated and intricate for robots. Production takes place in a dedicated facility located in Sindelfingen, a town on the outskirts of Stuttgart, Germany. The factory also builds similarly-armored variants of the G-Class, the M-Class and the E-Class.
The S600 Guard will go on sale in the coming weeks with a base price expected to lie in the vicinity of $435,000.
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