{"id":6646,"date":"2016-04-19T07:47:03","date_gmt":"2016-04-18T21:47:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.privatefleet.com.au\/?p=6646"},"modified":"2020-06-20T00:55:46","modified_gmt":"2020-06-19T14:55:46","slug":"real-life-bond-cars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/safety-2\/real-life-bond-cars\/","title":{"rendered":"Real Life Bond Cars?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"bondcar\"One of the neat features that you can expect in any good James Bond movie is a great set of wheels.\u00a0 It just wouldn\u2019t be James Bond without the Bond car.\u00a0 In fact, it wouldn\u2019t be Ian Fleming without the car, given that Ian Fleming also wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang<\/em>.<\/p>\n

However, cars tricked out with tons of neat features aren\u2019t just from the movies.\u00a0 We don\u2019t yet have cars that can get invisibility cloaks or ejector seats but it is possible to get cars that might look normal on the top but are otherwise underneath.\u00a0 Cars that are just a bit\u2026 well, I\u2019m afraid that \u201cbadass\u201d is about the only word, little as I like it (and even though the quality of being badass is nothing to do with substandard bottoms or donkeys).<\/p>\n

Armoured cars or \u201cpersonal protection vehicles\u201d are more common than you might think.\u00a0 Plenty of Hollywood superstars have them \u2013 they say that Kanye West has one that has electrified door handles to zap overly invasive paparazzi.\u00a0 However, in the Middle East and Venezeula, you\u2019ve got a combination of a bunch of super-rich folk and an unscrupulous underclass plus volatile politics and you\u2019ve got a situation where kidnapping for ransom is likely.\u00a0 And it\u2019s not just something that happens in dodgy countries \u2013 it happens in the USA as well.\u00a0 Heck, it could happen here some time.\u00a0 For the oil sheiks and similar, a personal protection vehicle is a good investment.\u00a0 It\u2019s a good investment to the point that there\u2019s even a company based in Texas (where else?) that specialises in customising vehicles so they have what it takes.<\/p>\n

However, many of these badass personal protection vehicles aren\u2019t the cool Aston Martins and Lotuses (Loti?) that you\u2019d see James Bond drive.\u00a0 Apparently, the cars that get done up most often are Toyota Land Cruisers <\/a>and Lexus LX 570s<\/a>.\u00a0 In the case of the Lankies, it\u2019s probably because they\u2019ve got the off-roading capacity to go gnarly places in their day-to-day lives as well as taking evasive manoeuvres if needed.<\/p>\n

The Texas Armouring Corporation (check them out at http:\/\/www.texasarmoring.com\/<\/a>) takes its job seriously.\u00a0 Their job involves keeping the cars in question nice and luxurious while being as tough as nails \u2013 now, that sounds Bondish enough for me.\u00a0 They also have to keep the handling of the car top-notch, although a bit of handling and performance will be sacrificed, as all that armour will add a bit of weight.\u00a0 The job usually involves a total strip-down before the Kevlar, ballistic grade steel and other cool materials get added in.\u00a0 Then comes the bulletproof glass, the run-flat tyres, the improved suspension and braking (to deal with the extra weight) and other extras before the interior is re-installed.\u00a0 Some of the badass Bond-type gadgets that can be added include the electric-shock doorhandles, road tack dispensers, smokescreens and night vision.<\/p>\n

The end result is a vehicle that might look like a regular luxury sedan but can withstand fire from an AK-47.\u00a0 Here\u2019s one of Texas Armouring Corporation\u2019s videos showing a Mercedes-Benz <\/a>being shot up in a promo video:
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