Interesting Facts About Armored Cars

For the last 80 plus years the auto industry has changed the way we maneuver around the world. From the first sets of horseless carriages to cars that can reach top speeds that were previously never thought possible, automobiles have come a long way from when they were first introduced and mass-produced.



Cars come in all shapes and sizes, personalized to fit every need of the driver now. The invention of the first automobile opened up a whole new way of living for so many people, making things more convenient and places easily accessible that would have taken a lot longer to get to in a carriage or on foot.



A civilian armored car is a security vehicle which is made by replacing the windows of a standard vehicle with bulletproof glass and inserting layers of armor plate into the body panels. Unlike a military armored car, which has armor plate mounted on the outside of the vehicle, a civilian armored car typically looks no different from a standard vehicle.

Top 12 interesting facts about armored cars:

1. There are over 100,000 armored cars currently in use worldwide
2. The average armored car costs around $120,000 with some armored car costing over $3 million (Bugatti)
3. It would take less than 6 months to get to the Moon by an armored car at 60mph (95km/h)
4. Over 85% of cars that International Armoring has produced are still on the road today
5. The odds of dying in a car accident are around 1 in 5,000. The odds of dying in an armored vehicle by accident are around 1 in 30,000 (6 x less likely)
6. A majority of the attacks on armored cars are on the glass (what attackers can see)
7. The most popular armored car in the world is the Toyota Landcruiser
8. The largest group to buy armored cars would be wealthy business owners and governments (though lawyers are now buying more armoring options)
9. It takes attackers on average 6 seconds to do a job. Armored cars give clients additional time to realize they are under attack and get out of the situation
10. International Armoring armors all types of vehicles from the Volkswagon Bug to Chevy Tahoe’s to a Maybach S62
11. Only two known electric vehicles have been armored (Chevy Volt and the Tesla Model S)
12. Terrorist and kidnapping attacks are the biggest reason for increased sales for armored cars worldwide

In addition the armored car industry has changed a lot of the last 20 years and this industry has saved hundreds of lives for people receiving protection that might not otherwise have had while traveling in their armored vehicles.



From the original tanks and history of the armored car to the design of the rebates edge and lightweight armoring solution armored vehicles are becoming more and more common worldwide.

Armored Car Certification

There are a variety of armoring standards which relate to non-military armored vehicles, the most common are:

• Ballistics Rating (BR): This is a European standard which certifies the materials used both transparent (BR - DIN EN 1063) and opaque (FB - DIN EN 1522/23), general guidelines on vehicle construction and covers 3 levels from 2 to 7. This is usually grouped under a single definition of B, e.g B6
• VPAM (Germany) have a number of standards that relate to non-military armored vehicles, they are:
  • APR 2006 - These are the general test guidelines for armoured products.
  • PM 2007 - This covers the materials used.
  • BRV 1999 and 2009 - This certification indicates that the whole vehicle has been tested instead of just the materials used.
  • ERV 2010 - Blast protection certification.
• Vehicle Security Advisory Group (VASG) - A British Standard for armored car construction and testing.
• National Institute for Justice (NIJ) - The American National Institute of Justice certification, covers body armour as well as vehicles and covers 5 levels.