Until now, environmentally conscious VIPs, captains of industry and similar folks with heightened security needs faced a bit of a dilemma when it came to choosing a car: Opt for a highly armored limousine or SUV that keeps you safe from bullets but is bad for the planet, or drive an electric car that is kind to mother earth but won’t shield you in a sudden lead shower. Luckily, a company in America now has a solution for this scenario in the shape of the world’s first bulletproof Tesla.
Created by a subdivision of Utah-based bulletproofing specialist International Armoring Corporation, the Armormax Tesla Model S P100D looks like any other Model S at first glance, with its sleek silhouette and straight-out-of-the-factory appearance not giving away the fact that this particular car is anything but your average electric runabout. Having spotted a gap in the market, the people at Armormax decided to create the world’s first armored Tesla, and in the process also managed to build what they claim is the world’s fastest bulletproof car.
Traditionally, armored cars use ballistic steel to stop projectiles, but by using their in-house synthetic-fiber laminate armoring instead, the people behind the project profess to have achieved a massive weight saving, with all the protective elements adding only 250kg to the car’s overall weight, a number far lower than the over 1.3 tons that would have been added had traditional steel been used instead. As a result, Armormax says that the Tesla has retained its original performance and will still catapult your butt if you stomp on the right pedal. The only thing we would imagine to have suffered is range, as the batteries now have to move some extra weight around, but the company didn’t release any information about this.
It did, however, reveal that the car was ordered by a Middle Eastern businessman who had to shell out $72,500 (P3,700,000) for the conversion (on top of the donor car price, of course), and that it took 650 man-hours to create this electric safe on wheels. Passengers can expect all the usual luxuries of a Tesla but won’t be able to wind the windows down anymore, as this function has fallen victim to the installation of 5cm-thick bulletproof glass. The tank-like EV can now withstand direct fire from high-powered rifles and handguns, while a reinforced floor makes sure that passengers won’t have their day ruined when driving over any carelessly placed hand grenades.
The Tesla you see here is the first example Armormax built, but five more have already been ordered. Being safe and green is definitely a thing now.
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