Photo: AddArmor
When talking about armored vehicles, most of us imagine something along the lines of the United States presidential state car. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class also comes to mind, and believe it or not, this Ferrari 458 Speciale is armored as well thanks to a Los Angeles-based compay.
“We turn regular vehicles into mobile safe rooms” is the motto of AddArmor, but frankly, there’s nothing regular about the limited-edition Italian supercar before your eyes. Even the armoring is on the unconventional side of things because it weighs 156 pounds or 70 kilograms.
An ultra-light exhaust system and all the carbon-fiber upgrades imaginable bring the extra weight down to 67 pounds over the stock car, translating to 30 kilograms. The Capristo exhaust also levels up the free-breathing V8 engine by 40 horsepower and 65 pound-feet of torque, enabling a top speed of 202 miles per hour (325 kilometers per hour).
Zero to 60 mph (97 kph) takes 2.8 seconds, so yeah, AddArmor did a marvelous job. And it’s not exactly expensive either if you happen to own a Ferrari 458 Speciale. $28,000 is the starting price for the AddArmor B4-level protection package, which means that .44 Magnum rounds bounce off the ballistic glass and laminated synthetic armoring panels.
If you missed out on the 458 Speciale, which numbers in the ballpark of 3,000 units, make that $625,000. There are, however, two problems with this car.
First of all, shooting the tires would render all that armoring pointless. Secondly, the 458 Speciale is an attention magnet visually and from an aural standpoint. Who in his right mind would drive a supercar in a dangerous neighborhood? Unfortunately, I don't have an answer to that question.
If you ask me, the most undercover vehicle that I can think of is a Civic or a Corolla with the protection package of the 458 Speciale and run-flat tires. Depending on application, AddArmor can spice things up with options such as pepper spray dispensers, electric shock door handles, a barricade-busting bumper, gun ports, a mine detection system, and a smoke screen system.
An ultra-light exhaust system and all the carbon-fiber upgrades imaginable bring the extra weight down to 67 pounds over the stock car, translating to 30 kilograms. The Capristo exhaust also levels up the free-breathing V8 engine by 40 horsepower and 65 pound-feet of torque, enabling a top speed of 202 miles per hour (325 kilometers per hour).
Zero to 60 mph (97 kph) takes 2.8 seconds, so yeah, AddArmor did a marvelous job. And it’s not exactly expensive either if you happen to own a Ferrari 458 Speciale. $28,000 is the starting price for the AddArmor B4-level protection package, which means that .44 Magnum rounds bounce off the ballistic glass and laminated synthetic armoring panels.
If you missed out on the 458 Speciale, which numbers in the ballpark of 3,000 units, make that $625,000. There are, however, two problems with this car.
First of all, shooting the tires would render all that armoring pointless. Secondly, the 458 Speciale is an attention magnet visually and from an aural standpoint. Who in his right mind would drive a supercar in a dangerous neighborhood? Unfortunately, I don't have an answer to that question.
If you ask me, the most undercover vehicle that I can think of is a Civic or a Corolla with the protection package of the 458 Speciale and run-flat tires. Depending on application, AddArmor can spice things up with options such as pepper spray dispensers, electric shock door handles, a barricade-busting bumper, gun ports, a mine detection system, and a smoke screen system.
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