Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations recently unveiled the latest version of its armoured Ranger Rover Sentinel.
The previous model was powered by a supercharged V6 petrol, but this has now been dropped in favour of a supercharged V8 petrol powerplant. Because it carries more than a tonne of armour plating, the Sentinel needs 10.4 seconds to get to 100km/h. Once it gets to that speed, however, there’s not much that can stop it.
At its core is a protection cell built to stringent whole vehicle standards and in accordance with full ballistic and blast certification. The enhanced body is engineered to face modern and unconventional forms of attack, including improvised explosive device (IED) fragmentation blasts.
The chassis, suspension, braking and electronic stability systems are all optimised to retain Range Rover’s on-road dynamics, while Sentinel also delivers unparalleled off-road ability for an armoured vehicle of this kind, enabling it to tackle deep water crossings and challenging terrain with ease. Specially manufactured wheels incorporate a run-flat system so the vehicle can be driven over distances of more than 50km at speeds of 80km/h if a tyre is damaged.
Sentinel is fitted with armoured glass in order to help protect occupants from attack. Further security systems includes the option for a specially configured front window which drops a maximum of 150mm for document delivery, while it also features a public address system allowing occupants to address people outside the vehicle without leaving their secure environment. Siren and emergency lighting packs are also available.
