The latest Range Rover goes way beyond what even the most ‘assertive’ Chelsea tractor owner would want. It's called the Sentinel and it can withstand 7.62mm high-velocity armour-piercing incendiary rounds and side-blasts from 15kg of TNT. Oh yes, and in case you were wondering if it can handle 2 x DM51 hand-grenades from above and below, it can.
The Sentinel’s bullet-and-blast-proof cocoon is provided by a 360-degree six-part armoured safety cell. It offers an incredible level of security, yet you wouldn’t be able to tell it apart from a regular Autobiography model, from either inside or out. Indeed, JLR says the degree of luxury and comfort one would expect from the Range Rover is uncompromised.
Built entirely by Range Rover's Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) unit, the 4x4’s glass provides the same level of protection as the steel body – which is constructed up to something called the VR8 Standard. SVO call it a ‘luxurious all-terrain fortress’.
But all this extra protection doesn’t come cheap; the Sentinel costs around £250,000 more than a basic Autobiography.
That said, the kind of clientele Jaguar Land Rover have in mind for this model are going to be well-funded and at-risk. That doesn’t include Kensington-based nannies on particularly challenging school-runs. We’re talking sheikhs, kings, heads-of-state – that kind of person.
But what would inspire such personages to pay £360,000 for a Sentinel, in preference to one of its various competitors?
As with JLR’s new Jaguar XE model, some of the Sentinel’s main competitors are Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW.
Mercedes Benz S-Guard 600
The Mercedes Benz S-Guard 600 is more expensive at around £900,000, but can deal with close range sniper fire, rocket-propelled grenades and high-velocity projectiles. Perhaps Range Rover will offer rocket-propelled grenade protection as an option on the Sentinel?
Audi A8 Security
Starting at around £450,000, the Audi A8 Security is also costlier than the Sentinel, but does offer protection against high-powered firearms and chemical attacks. Its W12 450b-horsepower can also hit 62mph from standstill in just five seconds.
BMW 7 Series High Security
Also resistant to projectile weapons and chemical attacks is the BMW 7 Series High Security. At around £230,000 this heavy piece of German engineering is more affordable than the Sentinel, with plenty of under-the-bonnet muscle thanks to its V12 6-litre, 535-horsepower engine. Handily, its petrol tank can also seal itself after being hit by a bullet.
Anonymous Autobiography
But RPGs and chemical weapon attacks aside, the Sentinel is no slouch in the protection department. And it has two other advantages over the Merc, Audi and BMW. It looks like a regular Range Rover – so it would be relatively inconspicuous on the streets of Bangkok, Dubai or London. That means VIPs could cruise around in something approaching anonymity.
Off-road Supremacy
It also offers something that no armoured limousine has: a superior off-road ability. No stretch-limo from Germany, the USA or anywhere else is going to deal with ‘avoid-or-evade’ situations quite like a Range Rover.
Very Hush-Hush
Of course, there are various heavily-armoured vehicles available to the oligarchs and oil magnates of this world that can also deal with off-road scenarios – such as the muscular Hummer or the monstrous Conquest Knight XV. But for those who want to be less visible to real or perceived enemies, such vehicles might be a little too muscular and monstrous.
At the end of the day, if you want to nonchalantly repel a grenade attack or a salvo from an AK47, a Range Rover is probably the classiest, most elegant vehicle to do it in.
Catch the Sentinel at the Defence & Security Equipment International (DSEI) 2015 event at ExCeL London from 15-18 September.
Breakdown Cover from 
