Armored Range Rover Has EV-Crushing Curb Weight

Aug. 18, 2023 5:28 PM ET byKarl Furlong Offbeat /Comments

But that's expected for a large SUV with B6 protection.

South African-owned Armormax, a specialist luxury vehicle armorer, has revealed armored versions of the newRange RoverandRange Rover Sport.

This year, Armormax has equipped the latestLand Rover Defender with B6 protectionand has done the same to the even more luxurious Range Rover. The smaller Range Rover Sport, however, comes with B4 protection. As with most armored vehicles, there are no telltale signs outside that these Range Rovers can protect occupants from even the most violent attacks.

They appear to be the same high-end SUVs we're familiar with and could be considered two of the most stylisharmored vehicles you can buy.

Armormax Range Rover

The Range Rover features lightweight composites, the best ballistic steel, and 1.6-inch ballistic glass. It can fend off attackers using AK-47, R5, and R1 weapons. Blast protection, a self-sealing gas tank, run-flat tire protection, and a push-to-talk intercom system are among its other upgrades. Armormax says that all the luxury features and functionality of the standard Range Rover remain untouched, so items like the deployable side steps and sunroof still work.

This tougher body adds around 1,543 pounds to the Range Rover's overall mass - not much for B6 level of protection. The US-spec Range Rover weighs at least 5,240 pounds, so once Armormax is done with it, this SUV has a total weight of almost 6,800 lbs or over 7,000 lbs for the long-wheelbase version.

In South Africa, Armormax charges between R1,868,000 (SWB) and R1,928,000 (LWB) for the package. That roughly translates to between $98,000 and $101,000.

Armormax Range Rover Sport

The Armormax Range Rover Sport has a lower B4 level of protection, but it can still protect occupants against handguns up to a .44 Magnum. Custom ballistic glass is half as thick as the B6 Range Rover's glass at around 0.82 inches. Lightweight ballistic composite has been used for exposed areas like the doors, panels, roof, and pillars. The run-flat tire protection and push-to-talk intercom also carry over to this armored Sport.

Since the B4 protection isn't as extensive, the weight gain has been limited to around 440 lbs. Armormax says that this has a negligible effect on dynamics; in a comparative test with the B4 Range Rover Sport and a standard model, the variations are below 10%. At R908,000 (around $48,000), the outlay for the B4 package is also a lot less.

Jaguar Land Rover South Africa fully endorses these armored Range Rovers, so the original warranty and maintenance plans are unaffected.