Here’s a demand no regular customer of the Model S has for Tesla: “Dear Elon Musk, could you armor my car because I’m afraid of bullets? But not too much ‘cause I want to enjoy that sweet, sweet Ludicrous Plus mode.”
The Musk man can’t help these customers, but a small company going by the name of Armormax is willing to do. Based in Ogden, Utah, the shop specializes in bulletproof-ing all sorts of vehicles, including the likes of the Toyota Fortuner, Nissan Patrol, Aston Martin Rapide, and BMW 335i.
Armormax offers B4, B5, and B6 ballistic protection for the Model S, with B6 capable of withstanding caliber 7.62x51-millimeter bullets from high-power rifles. B7, on the other hand, can repel armor-piercing munition. The company’s armored Model S comes in a variety of trims, though the P100D with Ludicrous Plus in the following clip is the crème de la crème.
Pricing is by quote only, but according to Armormax, there’s no faster bulletproof car in the world. Compared to the regular P100D, this fellow features 550 pounds of additional weight from the armor, which isn’t a lot considering that most armoring jobs add 3,000 pounds to the curb weight.
The secret to the lightweight armoring is the company’s proprietary synthetic fiber laminate that weighs 80 percent less than steel armor. No ballistic steel here, that’s right! And the vehicle maintains its original appearance and functions. Heck, you can mistake it for any other Model S on the road.
One way to tell the Armormax from the bone-stock P100D is the glass, which has been replaced by layered laminates. The reinforced suspension, run-flat tires, and armored 100-kWh battery are further giveaways.
“The vehicle was ordered by a Middle Eastern businessman,” and despite the heftiness, we hear the car is capable of hitting 60 miles per hour in three-and-a-bit seconds. For reference, the Tesla Model S P100D in completely stock flavor can easily thrust itself to 60 mph in 2.4 seconds.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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