King Charles III’s motorcade had a bulletproof BMW 760i Protection VR9, a VR9-rated sedan resisting armor-piercing rounds and grenades. Possibly an electric i7.
King Charles III’s recent visit to Washington wasn’t just about diplomacy and pageantry. Eagle-eyed automotive watchers spotted a black BMW 7 Series with European plates in his motorcade—an unmistakable BMW 760i xDrive Protection VR9, and notably not a US-spec model.It’s almost certain that the car wasn’t rented locally. The very same sedan turned up in Bermuda right after the US leg, which is where Charles headed next. For heads of state, this is standard practice: trusted armored vehicles travel with the protectee, wherever they go.The 760i Protection isn’t simply a fortified version of the standard 7 Series. BMW builds it on a dedicated line at the Dingolfing plant using what it calls a Protection Core. Rather than bolting armor onto an existing body, the car is constructed around an armored steel safety cell from the start.press.bmwgroup.comIts protection is rated VR9 under Germany’s VPAM standard. The body can shrug off 7.62×51 mm NATO armor-piercing rounds, and the glass meets the even tougher VPAM 10 spec, designed to stop a 7.62x54R sniper round. The floor and roof are engineered to survive multiple hand grenade blasts. Among the options are an oxygen supply system for gas attacks and removable blue emergency lights hidden in the grille.All that armor adds serious mass: the car tips the scales at around 3,965 kg (8,740 lbs), nearly double a typical luxury sedan. But a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 with 530 hp and 750 Nm of torque gets it moving. It hits 100 km/h in 6.6 seconds and is electronically capped at 210 km/h. In a protection vehicle, outright speed matters less than the ability to briskly exit a threat zone.Some features would seem bizarre in a normal road car. The special Michelin run-flat tires keep going even with zero pressure. The doors can be transformed into emergency exits, and they close automatically from the inside—the armored glass, which is roughly three inches thick, makes them extremely heavy.Reports suggest King Charles also has access to an electric BMW i7 M70 xDrive, likely in Protection specification. That car is heavier and slower, taking around 9 seconds to reach 100 km/h, but it delivers approximately 380 km of range. For a monarch who has spoken about environmental issues for years, a bulletproof electric saloon is more than just transport—it’s a subtle political statement.
Automobile Magazine – USA
