Audi is launching an all-new, armor-plated version of its A8 full-size luxury sedan. The A8L Security is based on the long-wheelbase model, and is available with either the 435-hp, twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 or the naturally aspirated, 500-hp, 6.3-liter W-12. Just because your life is apparently in danger every moment of every day doesn’t mean you can’t travel in style, and that’s why the Security incorporates the A8′s changes for 2015: namely, new headlights, a more elegant grille, and a restyled rear end.
The A8L Security is hand-fitted with heat-formed armor steel, aramide fabric, and multi-laminated glass armor. (The vehicle floor is armor plated, too, to protect against explosive devices.) For more money—and let’s be honest, if you’re buying an A8 capable of sustaining explosions, you have more money—Audi will offer rear windows made with a splinter-inhibiting polycarbonate layer that “almost fully open” for fresh air and runs to the drive-thru. Ordering a Wendy’s Baconator with the standard window option, however, will require using the Security’s intercom system as the panes are sealed shut.
Audi has patented an emergency-exit system, which allows the doors to be detached fully. There’s also an emergency-fresh-air system that creates overpressure in the vehicle, so that toxic gases cannot enter. The car consistently meets VR7 ballistic weapons security standards, and it is resistant to explosives according to ERV 2010 guidelines. Oh, and for even more money on top of all that, special battery and tank protection can be fitted.
- Instrumented Test: 2013 Audi S8
- Long-Term Road Test Wrap-Up: 2012 Audi A8L 4.2 FSI Quattro
- Instrumented Test: 2014 Audi A8L TDI
Transforming an A8L into an A8L Security takes some 450 hours, but those interested in purchasing a tank-proof A8 of their own will have to wait until this fall. Until then, safe travels.
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