Audi to launch grenade proof high-security A8

Audi has announced plans to introduce a high-security variant of the A8 to its current line-up.

The A8 L Security is a heavily-armoured luxury sedan that will feature an array of safety and security features to protect occupants from outside attacks. With an extra 450 hours of work to incorporate the additional protection, the A8 L Security meets the strictest guidelines enforced for civilian vehicles.

Custom security innovations, which are constructed in a guarded workshop, have earned the A8 L Security a class VR 7 ballistic protection rating (2009 Bullet Resistant Vehicle guidelines) that is certified by a German-government ballistics testing facility. To achieve this rating, a vehicle’s sheet metal and glazing in the passenger cell must be able to withstand firing from NATO hard-core ammunition. 

The safety cell in the A8 L Security is comprised of resistant materials that include “hot-formed armored steel, aramide fabric, ceramics, special alloyed aluminum and multilayer glass” to provide extra protection against explosive weapons. However the cost of being protected from military hand grenades and explosive charges, which Audi say test dummies have demonstrated, is a 720 kilogram increase in the vehicles overall weight.

Polycarbonate coated glass, which prevents the windows spalling in the event of gunfire, add 300 kilograms to the car as well as the strengthened doors which have an overall weight of 360 kilograms.

Audi says that a multitude of other special security options are available for those wanting further protection. Among these is a patented escape system that detaches the doors from the body by pressing a tamperproof switch, a fire extinguisher system comprised of underfloor tubes connected to canisters in the luggage compartment which are activated by heat sensors, and an emergency fresh-air system that “lasts long enough for the car to pass through a danger zone”.

A 6.3 litre W12 engine is responsible for powering the A8 L Security. The 500 hp and 625 Nm of torque offered will power the Audi to 100 km/h in 7.3 seconds with top speed limited to 210 km/h in order to preserve the tires. Average fuel consumption is a claimed 13.5 litres per 100 kilometres. A more fuel-efficient engine will also be offered in the coming year.

Audi has stated that the A8 L Security will be available for delivery in late summer with the additional engine to follow in 2012. Pricing has not yet been confirmed.