The Range Rover Sentinel armoured SUV made its Indian debut at the ongoing 2016 DefExpo in Goa. The fortress-on-wheels is created by JLR’s Special Vehicles Operation (SVO) division and is hand built at Land Rover’s Oxford Road facility.
Targeting powerful people like politicians, top military officials, successful businessmen, etc., the Range Rover Sentinel complies with the VR8 safety standard against ballistic threats. The SUV can protect its occupants from armour piercing incendiary bullets, 15 kg TNT explosions and the blast from DM51 grenades.
Claimed to be the safest SUV in the world, the Range Rover Sentinel features six-piece armoured passenger cell made of super-high-strength steel, multi-laminated armoured privacy glass, self-healing fuel tank, anti-tamper exhaust and run-flat tyres which can be used even when they are fully deflated.
Despite the added armours and security measures, the Range Rover Sentinel is visually identical to the regular variants. Based on the Autobiography variant, armoured SUV is claimed to be as capable, refined and luxurious as the regular model.
The thick, armored door with bullet proof glass of Range Rover Sentinal at 2016 DefExpo Under the hood is a 3.0-litre supercharged V6 engine which is mated to a specially calibrated ZF 8-speed transmission to push out 340 bhp. The Dynamic Stability Control and Ride Stability Control are tweaked to suit the armoured vehicle.
JLR India has not revealed the pricing or intended launch date of the Range Rover Sentinel in India. The armoured SUV is merely being showcased for now.
