Hope you don’t need an armored, electric BMW that goes 100 mph

Feeling a bit insecure? Allow us to present BMW’s brand-new 7 Series “protection” models, designed to keep you safe and secure in a wide variety of sinister scenarios.

While the armored models include, as usual, the mild-hybrid 7 Series sedan, they also include, for the first time, the electric i7, billed as the world’s first-ever protection sedan with an all-electric drive system—in the words of BMW, “a genuine trailblazer.”

“The new protection models,” BMW says, “offer at-risk individuals customized protection from attacks with firearms and explosives.” They are built to the standards recognized by Germany’s Vereinigung der Prüfstellen für Angriffshemmende Materialien und Konstruktionen (VPAM), which translates to Association of Test Laboratories for Attack-Resistant Materials and Construction, an accepted world standard.

The certification is based, among other things, on the Association’s third edition of the guidelines for Bullet Resistant Vehicles with regard to ballistic resistance, and the guidelines for Explosive Resistant Vehicles with regard to blast resistance. The glass already meets the highest standard for civilian vehicles, and the rest of the 7 Series’ armored body can also be optioned up to the maximum resistance for blasts and bullets.

For the first time, “the entire supporting structure for the protection sedan’s body is constructed from armor steel,” forming a “self-supporting protective cell, which is then combined with protection-spec doors, armoring for the underbody and roof, and safety glass.

“The occupants are also protected from drone attacks with explosive charges and from fragments dispersed by hand grenades on detonation. The new BMW 7 Series Protection also features a self-sealing fuel tank as a standard. The tank’s casing automatically closes breaches made by the impact of a bullet and thus prevents loss of fuel.” BMW says one advantage of buying a car like the 7 Series that is armored from the factory, as opposed to armoring an existing vehicle, is that the 7 Series Protection looks pretty much like a regular 7 Series, thus attracting less attention.

As you would expect of a BMW, the armored 7 Series also makes a good getaway car, though it is inevitably slowed by the extra weight. “The unrivalled levels of agility shown by the two protection sedans translates into high steering precision, excellent cornering dynamics and outstanding figures for acceleration and top speed.” The top speed for the electric i7 is governed at 99 mph; 130 mph for the regular 7 Series. 0 to 60 mph time for the 7 Series Protection is about 6.5 seconds, a couple of seconds slower than the regular 7 Series.

The twin-motor i7 has 544 horsepower; the 7 Series has 530 horsepower from the 4.4-liter V-8. “The protection sedans also convince with precisely controllable handling, even when they are being driven hard, such as when escaping from an attack.” Tires are run-flat Michelins good to 50 mph when punctured. Both models feature all-wheel-drive. Of course, there’s no reason to travel in anything less than consummate luxury: “A massage function can be specified for all seats as an option.”

There’s more, but you get the idea. Pricing information was not revealed by BMW, but it’s a lot more than the roughly $100,000 for a base, unarmored 7 Series. Deliveries begin in December.

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