Prime Minister Narendra Modi now has the Mercedes-Maybach S650 armoured vehicle worth Rs 12 crore, according to a report.
The special purpose vehicle comes as an upgrade from the Range Rover Vogue and the Toyota Land Cruiser that the prime minister had used until recently, as per virtual portal carandbike.
According to the report, the prime minister was first spotted in the car at Hyderabad House, where he had gone to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had been visiting the country earlier this month.
The high-protection car can withstand explosions and bullets due to its upgraded windows and body shell which offer high resistance. The cabin of the vehicle is also provided with a separate air supply in case of a gas attack.
The car gets an Explosive Resistant Vehicle (ERV) 2010 rating, as it is capable of of protecting its riders from a blast of 15 kg TNT occurring merely two metres from the automobile, as per carandbike.
The highest speed that the car permits is 160 kmph.
The prime minister had driven in the bulletproof Mahindra Scorpio when he was the Gujarat chief minister, and as prime minister has used the BMW 7 Series High-Security Edition, a Land Rover Range Rover Vogue, and a Toyota Land Cruiser.
The Special Protection Group (SPG), entrusted with the task of providing proximate security to the prime minister, identifies security requirements and selects a vehicle for the head of the state accordingly. The SPG orders two identical cars, of which one is used a decoy.
(With inputs from carandbike)
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