BMW X5 Australian Federal Police vehicles

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By Brett Davis | October 12th, 2010

BMW has just handed five specially-made BMW X5 security vehicles to the Australian Federal Police. The vehicles are security certified to Vehicle Resistance 4 (VR4), meaning they are bulletproof.

The five X5s are fitted with BMW’s 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 petrol engine and an array of security features such as bullet-resistant glass, armour ‘survival cell’ plating and an attack alarm and intercom system.

Although all these features weigh the cars down somewhat, BMW says the cars still offer excellent mobility and agility just like the normal BMW X5 through the use of uprated suspension and braking components.

Stavros Yallouridis, BMW Group Australia Managing Director, said in a recent statement,

“To be truly safe, you need the flexibility, speed and agility to react to any situation which these unique vehicles can offer.”

Adding to the car’s security is the attention to detail in critical engine component protection, which provides the engine sufficient guarding from bullets and shrapnel whilst under attack, allowing the vehicle to be driven away in such circumstances.

In addition to the car’s ultra-safe capacity, the drivers of the cars have all received special security driver education which they undertook at a BMW purpose-built facility in Berlin, Germany.

The five X5s will be used by the AFP to commute Australian and foreign VIPs.

Doc

I remember Howard got a local defence contractor to make a few Holden Caprices bulletproof rather than buy imported. Oh well, we should of known that Federal Labor would follow the state Labor government in buying more and more imported cars.

ABMPSV

Holden Caprice is a sedan BMW is a 4wd which is much better in a sticky situation like on rough road or dirt road.

Andrew M

Ok how about a Territory??
Thats comparible to an X5 on ability

The Realist

World Leaders in Asia travel in true luxury cars.

A Ford Territory doesn’t cut it bud.
MJ

the territory may be comparible, but its not quite as ‘nice’ as an x5. I can see why i did it, but i think that they should have gotten something australian built.

Hooda

you mean Victorian built or Adelaide built.

ABMPSV

I do not think so. Just checked BMW website the 4.4L twin turbo is 408kW and 680Nm from 1500 to 5650 rpm

Radbloke

The reason they would have chosen this is because you can buy one ready-made. Do you have any idea how expensive it is to build a security/armoured car from scratch? An armoured caprice would probably end up costing twice as much and wouldn’t do the job anywhere near as well.
Andronicus

Oh please, what are they going to do? Drive VIP’s around in a bulletproof Captiva (which is bloody korean anyway)???

Get a grip, heads of state and their affiliates expect a certain type of transport and a Holden just aint it.

Pete

Is this a joke?? we have our own car industry and defence industry yet they are buying imported secure vehicles? Yay Labor!

Princess

No – the joke is our car industry – that’s why they had to go over seas to get something decent
The Realist

Mate, world leaders are driven around in S Class and 7 Series – it would be an embarrassment to Australia to subject a head of state to a bogan mobile.

Shak

Most world leaders that travel in S-Classes and 7 Series either dont have local alternatives9which we do) or are dictators. Why isnt Juliard on this thing and getting a bomb/bulletproof Grange for her and her mate.

gearboxdawg

I thought Volvo XC60 or Volvo XC70 would be a better choice with heaps of safety features.
vrx26

Is Australia really that dangerous that they require these expensive cars? Even our own Prime Minister rides in a normal car. Spending our tax moneys to wipe foreign national a**. If the foreign VIP Visitors requires these kind of vehicle let them pay for it. We can already provide the police escorts they want and they can call the Armed Forces if they want to. How many VIP people visit Australia anyway? Obama would not even use it because he has his own security detail wherever he goes. Another show of extreme waste and extravagance to the detriment of taxpayers.

The Realist

Ha ha, hilarious: “Another show of extreme waste and extravagance to the detriment of taxpayers.”

And what’s our car industry bud?

MK

Lord of war (sic), springs to mind. You see a lot of them in Africa.
Bo

In spite of all the arguments here, “4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 petrol engine” + keyword “Heavy”, what are the figures of fuel consumption and CO2 emission? Or it is not a concern when THEY are IN the car?
My Password

Specially made X5′s to commute VIP’s…No wonder the fines are ridiculously expensive in Australia. So part of the tax payer’s money is being used in buying modified BMW’s..wow Go Gillard go!!!

Dale

I’ll bet the cops/RTA would defect my car if I modded it like that

My Password

Haha..next time the cops pull us over for riding on ultra low profiles..we can say ”these are run flat tyres”!!

Dale

I wonder if they had to pay the stupid Luxury Car Tax! I’m guessing government agencies are exempt from it, but even if they weren’t, it’d be paid from our taxes anyway.
greenroom

The NSW govt. should give the dudes in the mobile speed camera wagons these shrapnel proof beemers , least it might help them survive.

Yonny

Um, who cares if they survive? They’re part of the problem, not the solution. If they’re stupid enough to park right by the roadside – against all common sense – then I really don’t care if a massive truck smashes into them.

UMWHAT

we’ll see how bullet proof the cars are when I shoot at the wheels

fourl6

dont bmw use punter proof tires that can be driven on even if they are flat? fat sidewalls or something

Mikey_94

They’re called Run-flats

Shak

I think some German or UK cop agency have invented some type of road spikes that when driven over wrap themselves around the tyres so that even if they are runflats they cant be driven without the car shuddering violently.

Andrew M

Gosh, they make out as if the AFP’s daily duties are similar to that of Bruce Willis in many of his flicks.

And I also ask as to why they couldnt source Australian……
Competition to this would have been the Territory. It too handles well for its size, and fitted with the I6T or coyote it too would run just as fast, if not faster
John of Perth

The obvious question to be asked is “did this go to tender”.

If yes and no Australian supplier responded then case closed.

If yes and the mainstream suppliers responded, then the questions are ‘were their bids more expensive, or if cheaper, on what criteria was the more expensive bid selected”.

Either way I reckon no change out of $2M including training in Germany.

Smithy

That’s the point John. What a lot of people are overlooking is that these are effectively “off the shelf” items. There are very few other alternatives, and certainly nothing built in Australia, short of an APV. I think someone builds a Range Rover version, but that’s pretty much it, as far as non-military “light” armoured road vehicles.

bangel

ABMPSV is the only person commenting with an IQ over 80 and his is probably 125+ .
UMWHAT

really? i thought my comment was quite intelligent if I do say so myself
Dave S

Sounds like the regular X5. Except heavier, slower and thirstier. I really doubt we need one of these. I imagine we dont take visitors off road into the bush.

USe our local cars, show our visitors what we can do here.

ABMPSV

I checked website and looks like BMW is making this X5 security car for few years. It more than a regular car. Ford never done it so it would take few years to catch up with BMW. Official state car on Wikipedia you can see quite a few government use this car. Of course is heavier because is fitted with 1-inch bulletproof glass, as well as special materials, similar to those used in bulletproof vests, that allow it to withstand small bomb blasts. As for the tyre “n addition, the BMW X5 Security Plus boasts tyres with emergency running properties. This ensures that the tyres remain functional even after a total loss of pressure, e.g. after being shot at or after running over sharp or pointed objects. When the vehicle is partially loaded, they permit safe driving over a distance of around 150 kilometres at a speed of up to 80 km/h”

Igomi Watabi

I don’t see the issue. A requirement was identified and a public service agency (not the government – and by the way, making political comment loses its validity when your command of the English language is so poor) filled that requirement with what they saw as the most appropriate vehicle. On a smaller scale, when I was buying vehicles for an employer years ago, we never once looked at whether the vehicles were local. People expect a Government to be all “socialist” and support the workers, then get all narky when they don’t make the sound financial decisions. Furthermore, where’s the background for the people making the comments? For example, do we know if maybe Ford were approached to do something similar with the Territory but turned it down? It would cost them a lot of money to develop the Territory thus, for just 5 sales. I just think that there’s not enough information in the article for people to be mouthing off.
Devil’s Advocate

Another point to note is that BMW sell ‘bullet proof’ versions of some of their cars (5, 7, X5 etc) as an option direct from the factory. This can reduce the cost of modification as the armour, strengthening, engine/chassis modifications etc are designed into the structure etc and integrated into the car during assembly. The cost of development of these cars by BMW is also spread over a lot more vehicles ie economy of scale.

This could actually work out cheaper and more effective than modifying a limited number of Ford Territorys for example as they would have the be completely stripped down and re-engineered/modified from the ground up (not cheap). This would also have to be done by an external company who is most likely overseas anyway as I have not heard of any company in Australia that specialises in ‘bullet proofing’ cars! The cost of development/engineering/tooling etc would then be distributed over only 5 cars as opposed to thousands WRT the BMW offering. I AM NOT saying that it definitely is a cheaper alternative, but I would not at all be suprised if this is the case…

Radbloke

Correct. I used to do contract work for a company that provided custom-made armoured Mercedes G-Wagons for private security firms in hot spots around the world. The process is extremely difficult, time consuming and very, very expensive. Along with that, the logistics for ongoing parts and software support takes a lot of time and money. I highly doubt Ford or Holden would be in the least bit interested in committing so much effort for such a small outcome.

What’s up

C/A, what’s up with the comment time stamping? I’ve been watching this for days now, it’s all over the place.

eg
Devil’s Advocate says:
October 12, 2010 at 3:03 pm

then a reply:
Radbloke says:
October 12, 2010 at 11:43 am

(Actual time of this post: October 12, 2010 at 1:53pm EDT)

Devil’s Advocate

Funnily enough I posted my comment above about 6 hours earlier than the time stamped on it!

nickdl

Why don’t they just use a Toyota Hilux, they’re known for bulletproof reliability.
http://www.caradvice.com.au/ Alborz Fallah

Thanks for letting us know
We will fix asap
Wilson

When did aussies all become such whingers? I haven’t read all the comments as it is so tiresome. No doubt I will draw criticism but I will respond to some, I wont respond anymore but I do know a bit about this subject.
1st – does our PM drive in a standard car? look closer.
2nd – No Aussie car maker, makes an armoured vehicle! The old Caprices and I emphasise old, were retrospectively fitted up by an outside company. They stuck laminated persplex in place of the windows etc. Windows dont go down, door skins not wide enough to accept the extra width. They were actually dangerous, being overweight, poorly braked and with a limited life span. None of them were fully tested and they were expensive. These HAVs (Heavy armor) are made in the BMW factory, windows everything works as per normal car, they have also been tested well, BMW have videos etc of their capabilties.
3rd – Whether you like Police or anti Police, the fact is, they are for the protection team to use, they are the security vehicle NOT the principal vehicle. It is up to the foreign diplomats to provide their own vehicles.
4th – They were tendered and a business plan put together, the world is becoming a dangerous place, Australia is not immune! WAKE UP, it is a matter of when not if it will happen.
5th – some of your comments are from smart people, some are ignorant. Again Australia doesnt make cars of this capability, there is no market here, that is why Australia wide, there will be about 5 of them only.
They are ALL wheel drive, not FOUR wheel drive, enthusiasts will knwo the difference. But think about, Armoured Caprice Sedan, A standard Caprice that weighs 2 ton more than designed. An “incident” occurs the team reacts and needs to jump a kerb. Not pretty!! A Factory made BMW ALL with drive, proper suspension – brakes – height to get over a kerb and also see further down the road for threats, works well. Fuel economy is better than the Caprice. The current Ford Territorys cannot be armoured, full stop. Companys look at them and no one wanted to. There was no point going down that part. Dollar for Dollar versus safety and capabilities, these cars were way ahead of any competitor, Australian or otherwise. I do have some knwoledge of the process. Australia, just be thankful that our services have the capability and proper equipment to respond to an incident that will no doubt have international repurcussions. Keep up with world events and stopped wondering why these things happen and how much it will cost. Each agency has a budget and will spend it as it see’s fit. These cars cost money, so does retro fitting Caprices that then cost more in maitaining the capability. Go nuts – attack me now!