Mercedes-Benz has recently announced the new S-Class Guard, an armored version of its flagship sedan. The S-Class Guard comes with bulletproof glass and strengthened body panels. However, if you're thinking about buying one, you might be out of luck. Mercedes has a long list of people whom they can and can't sell these cars to, and you're probably on the "can't" list.
We spoke to S-Class Guard Communications Officer, Saša Zejnić, in Hamburg at the first drive of the standard S-Class and asked him about what the process is for buying an S-Class Guard. First off: if you're in the US or China, you've already been taken off the list. Zejnic says they won't sell to two of the world's biggest superpowers, nor any country (or person) under an embargo.
View Price on AmazonZejnić wouldn't say what the background check consists of, but we assume they'll be making sure you use the Guard for good, given that the S-Class has a long and illustrious history with some not-so-fondly remembered political figures. But, say you've passed the test and you are worthy of an S-Class guard, what now?
The build process is where you can really get wild. There's no options list for everything that's available on an S-Class Guard; most of it is top secret. But Zejnić does tell us about some of the options that can be equipped.
"What is the purpose of the car? What is the need? So you have a quite civilian car, but you can also have a big authority car, with blue lights and flashlights and that, et cetera, et cetera."
The S-Class Guard is currently the only model in the facelifted S-Class fleet that uses a V12, which is another feature that normal people can't get. How much is it? Good luck getting a number.
Zejnić wouldn't give us any pricing information, how many units they plan on producing, or the "process" by which they produce them. Part of this is due to how customized the cars can get, with each one being different, and therefore making the price of each car different.
Source: motor1.com
