Range Rover Sentinel showcased in India

Range Rover has showcased the Sentinel armoured SUV at the 2016 Defexpo India. The Sentinel is the first armoured vehicle that is built on the standard wheelbase of the Range Rover Autobiography model. It made its first official ppearance last year at the Defence and Safety Equipment International (DSEI) Exhibition in London.

The luxury fortress has been hand built at Land Rover’s Oxford Road Facility in UK under the Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) division and is designed to withstand damaging and targeted threats up to VR8 level of ballistic resistance. The SUV is capable of surviving armour piercing incendiary bullets and also blast from a DM51 grenade explosion. The vehicle cabin is reinforced with super-high-strength-steel forming a six-piece armoured passenger cabin. All standard glass of the Land Rover is replaced with bullet-proof multi-laminated armoured glass. In case of a situation where the SUV is being attacked or blocked by an accident at the main doors, the occupants can exit the vehicle via an emergency escape system located behind the rear seats.

Commenting on the Land Rover Sentinel, John Edwards, managing director of Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations said, “The new Range Rover Sentinel is one of the most extraordinary Range Rovers ever produced. It has been expertly engineered by Special Vehicle Operations to provide class leading levels of protection to occupants against extreme attack, whilst retaining the Range Rover’s luxury and refinement with off road capability.” 

If the above mentioned protection was not safe enough, the SVO division has provided the Sentinel with a self-healing fuel tank, auxiliary back-up battery, a split charging system, anti-tamper exhaust, and a 100mm opening in then driver side window for exchange of documents. Also the armoured SUV has run-flat tyres to allow the vehicle mobility despite tyre deflation. Luxury has not been skipped anywhere in the interiors of the Land Rover Sentinel as it continues to offer the same level of comfort and extravagance as seen in the Range Rover Autobiography.  

Powering this armoured SUV is a 3.0-litre supercharged V6 petrol engine that is mated to a specially-calibrated ZP 8-speed automatic transmission. Stopping duties for this heavily armoured vehicle are done by 380mm discs at the front and 365mm rear ventilated discs with high-density brake pads ensuring minimum braking distance when needed.