Protection — a word that you’re used to hearing in other contexts, but let’s not waste our time over that. What happens when the word gets applied to cars? The answer is right here; the car that you see here is a 7 Series that takes protection very seriously, albeit while skipping out a few features, most notably the drop-down theatre screen; you’ll soon learn why it’s not there.
BMW has been making protection cars for quite a while; it began with the 7 Series back in 1978 and went on with it till 2003, after which it began using the X5. However, BMW did briefly go back to the 7 Series for a protection car in 2012, after which the X5 Security was rolled out a year later. The last new Security model was also an X5 that came back in 2019. The 7 Series Protection has now come back after 12 years.
In order to tell the 7 Series Protection apart from the regular one, one must have an eagle-eye. The only way to really tell it apart is to check for a flag-holder on one of the front fenders. Another subtle indicator are the 20-inch light alloy wheels, which are specific to this particular model. These alloy-wheels are shod on PAX tyres developed by Michelin; these tyres are run-flats that can be used for 30 km in the event of a puncture, at a top speed of 80 kph.
Let’s get to brass-tacks now; how serious is the 7 Series Protection about protecting you? Firstly, it has a self-supporting structure that is made out of armoured steel. The body panels are added to this toughened steel platform later. Additionally, the roof and underbody also receive armour treatment. Should a fire-in-the-hole situation arise (we hope it doesn’t), the 7 Series Protection will be able to protect you easily. In fact, the car has been given a VR9 level rating. Then you have the multi-layer armoured glass. This glass has been given a VPAM 10 rating, which means it will protect you from 7.62x5Li R ammo. The fuel-tank is also a self-sealing unit, which is helpful in the event a bullet hits the car, as it prevents fuel loss and the risk of things becoming a little more…. erm, heated.
The 7 Series Protection continues to receive electrically-assisted doors. However, the motors used for these doors are different, as they need more power in order to be able to open or close these doors, which weigh about 200 kg each. You can feel the heft when you try to open them. The windows also come with powered sun-blinds and there is a ‘spy mode’ on offer that lets you open the blinds for upto 10 cm, allowing you to have a view of the outside strategically, while still keeping you safe. The 7 Series Protection, for the first time, gives you the option of using the emergency-exit function on any door.
You can also choose to communicate with the outside world with the help of an intercom system that comes as standard. This is possible via microphones integrated into the ORVMs, along with an external speaker, a hands-free microphone in the roof liner, and additional speakers in the interior. We don’t need to tell you how useful that can be in certain situations.
What’s under the hood, you might ask? The 7 Series Protection comes in the 760i trim, with a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 powertrain, putting out 522 bhp and 76.47 kgm of torque. All-wheel drive comes as standard, and BMW claims this is the first-ever Protection car to feature rear-wheel steering. Triple digits come up in 6.6 seconds, while it reaches a claimed top-speed of 210 kmph.
The 7 Series Protection doesn’t sacrifice the luxury experience in order to protect you. Although, the theatre screen had to go in favour of the armored roof, you still get a 28-speaker Bowers & Wilkins sound system, which enhances its quality with a 1,265-watt digital amplifier and individually-adjustable equalizers. Rear passengers also get exclusive to a cooled box between the seats, which is good enough for two water bottles and two glasses.
Furthermore, BMW gives you the option of choosing from three different upholsteries with certain customizable elements, and six different paint schemes, to help you maintain a low-profile in public areas. Although if we were to pick, the signature black itself is pretty cool; who wouldn’t want to feel like Frank Martin from The Transporter each time you look at the car?
Additional equipment in this car includes a driver-assistance suite, with features such as panorama view, remote 3D view, and the BMW Drive Recorder as part of the Parking Assistant Plus package, along with front collision warning, crossroads warning, lane departure warning, and speed limit info among other things.
Don’t get too excited if you see the two cylinders while opening the boot; they are not NOS tanks, and they definitely do not have an ‘ejecto seato’ function either. Those are fire extinguishers, which come with both automatic and manual discharge abilities.
As obvious as it is, all good things come at a price, and with the BMW 7 Series Protection you can probably double or triple it. While the carmaker did not explicitly comment on a price tag, it did say that the approximate price bracket for security cars ranges between 450 million USD to 750 million USD. If you’re in the market for this one, we reckon you made it quite big in life.
