While a lot of people dream about being a celebrity, celebrities can face a lot of challenges. Celebrities can face threats from stalkers, terrorist groups, and even some states. For most people, an armored car would be seen as unnecessary but not for a lot of celebrities.
Due to incidents such as the assassination of John Lennon, Martin Luther King Jr, and many others, a lot of celebrities have decided to purchase armored cars. The protection needs of actors, musicians, and politicians all differ but one option available to them is the armored car.
10 Dartz Prombron Monaco Red Diamond Edition
The Dartz Prombron Monaco Red Diamond Edition is a $1.5 million dollar Latvian armored car. The car is not just advertised as an armored car but it is also advertised as a luxury vehicle due to its gold plating. When a driver purchases the SUV, it comes with three bottles of the world's most expensive vodka, included.
The SUV is protected by exterior bulletproof Kevlar coating. According to Dartz, the four-ton vehicle has a 450-hp V8 engine and can survive hits from a rocket-propelled grenade.
9 Conquest Knight XV
The Conquest Knight XV is actually a street-legal armored vehicle, which is powered by a 6-8-liter bio-fuel powered V10 engine. With its heavy armor, the vehicle would likely even be a good vehicle for some war zones. Unlike some armored cars, the Knight VX was designed from the start to be an armored vehicle.
The SUV includes high strength steel, ballistic aluminum, and a firewall between the engine and passenger compartment. The Knight XV has been rated to protect against handgun, shotgun, and rifle ammunition. Celebrities can feel safe knowing that the Knight is rated to protect them from any caliber up to and including 7.62x54mm rounds fired by an SVD Dragunov sniper rifle.
8 Rezvani Tank
Known as the "Tank,"the Rezvani Tank is based on the chassis of a Jeep Wrangler. The car is powered by a 6.4-liter Hemi that produces 500 horsepower. In addition, the car has aircraft-grade aluminum doors, thermal night vision, and comes with an option 1,000 horsepower V8. This armored car offers protection against electromagnetic pulses which would disable conventional vehicles.
This armored car isn't inexpensive though. For celebrities that want the protection that the Tank offers, they will have to pay up to $155,000 dollars.
7 BMW X5 Security Plus
The BMW X5 Security Plus may look like an ordinary BMW X5, but you would be mistaken. The X5 Security Plus is actually designed to be resistant against AK-47 fire. The vehicle was custom-built to keep protection in mind. The X5 model includes "Post-Blast-Protection" glass which enables the occupants of the car to be safe from secondary attacks as well. The all-armored window panes remain in place even after multiple hits.
The SUV also has a Self-Sealing Fuel Tank that will reseal after bullets or shrapnel have struck it. In addition, the underbody of the vehicle is armored to protect against attacks, such as a hand grenade which might be tossed under the vehicle.
6 Alpha Armoring Toyota Land Cruiser
The Alpha Armoring Toyota Land Cruiser may not appear as resistant to gunfire and explosives as some of the other vehicles on this list but it has a key advantage. The SUV can blend in with city traffic and provide a celebrity with the anonymity that they might want. However, it would be a mistake to underestimate this Land Cruiser.
The model is rated as a B7 level security car. B7 is the strongest protection level for civilian armored cars and will protect occupants from armor-piercing rounds fired by sniper rifles. Anything less powerful will have trouble penetrating the armored vehicle as well.
5 Terradyne Gurkha
Based on the Ford F-550, the Terradyne Gurkha is advertised as the "civilian edition" of the RPV (Rapid Patrol Vehicle). The Gurkha relies on a 6.7-liter turbodiesel V8 engine, which produces 330 horsepower and 750 pound-feet of torque. With its B7-level armored plating, the Gurkha is protected against everything from handguns to armor-piercing sniper rifles.
The tires of the vehicle are mounted on bead-lock wheels, so even if the tires become deflated, the tires won't come off. The truck has a 40-gallon fuel tank and a lookout/escape hatch built into it.
4 Dartz Black Shark
The Dartz Black Shark has been built and advertised towards prominent people in Russia in particular. The Black Shark includes several unique features to protect against threats. For protection against aggressive paparazzi, the door handles have a shock-device built into them. To protect against an assassin that might try to place a magnetic mine onto the vehicle, the armor is made of a Kevlar-Titanium so the mine won't attach.
Another unique feature of the Black Shark is the rotating bulletproof grill. While the Black Shark may offer more protection than is necessary for a lot of celebrities, for celebrities who believe that they have a lot of threats, it is definitely an option.
3 Al Capone's Cadillac Series 341-A Town Sedan
A celebrity that wants Al Capone's Cadillac Series 341-A Town Sedan likely wants it for the historical value more so than the practical value. The old gangster's car is armored, outfitted with an inch of bulletproof glass, and has around 3,000 pounds of armor plating, however, due to advances in technology, it is far from the safest armored car.
Unlike some of the other cars on this list, Al Capone's Cadillac offers nothing in terms of protection against explosives. However, the car does have some unique features, such as firing ports.
2 Paramount Group Marauder
The Paramount Group Marauder is an armored car that is made for transporting multiple people. In fact, the Marauder has enough room for ten bodyguards, which a lot of celebrities rely on for protection as well. In addition, the hull of the vehicle is protected against 18 pounds of TNT.
The Marauder utilizes a double-skinned hull to protect against explosives that are detonated below the vehicle. For a lot of armored vehicles, this is a particularly vulnerable area but not for the Marauder.
1 Armormax Dodge Charger Hellcat
The Armormax Dodge Charger Hellcat is like its name implies, a Charger Hellcat. The car relies on a 707-hp engine and includes a bull bar and run-flat tires. In addition, the car is designed to protect against anything up to high-powered sniper rifles.
This armor covers not just the passenger compartment but also the battery and fuel tank. For celebrities who want an armored muscle car, this is definitely an option.