
The Volvo XC90 Armoured is designed and built to provide safe and comfortable travel with a high level of personal protection for the occupants.
Volvo Cars has received numerous requests over the past few years to develop an armoured XC90. The company has extensive experience of building police cars, fire appliances and diverse special vehicles with high requirements in terms of function, driveability and safety. In fact, the first Volvo police car was delivered back in 1929.
“The XC90 Armoured (heavy) with VR8 protection rating (VPAM BRV 2009/ERV 2010) enables us to offer a car that provides a high level of protection while retaining the car’s fundamental properties. Potential customers include security services who would use the car to transport high-profile individuals,” says Stephan Green, Marketing Director at Volvo Cars Special Vehicles.
Work to develop a car with a VPAM VR8 protection rating commenced just over two years ago. A certified VPAM VR8 rating means the car has 360-degree ballistic resistance as well as explosive resistance.
The armoured car is built on the Inscription version of the Volvo XC90 T6 AWD, which is manufactured at the Torslanda plant in Sweden. The size and nature of the model make it the most suitable vehicle in Volvo Cars’ product portfolio for armouring. From Torslanda, the car is sent to TRASCO Bremen GmbH in Germany, a company which has specialised for many years in building high-quality vehicles with high protection ratings.
The high-strength steel armour is 10mm thick, while the thickness of the glass can be up to 50mm. The armour adds approximately 1400kg to the XC90, which brings the total weight of the car up to 4490kg (including five occupants). To cope with the increased weight, the car is fitted with uprated suspension and new brakes.
“Production is carried out with extreme diligence, which is imperative in order to fulfil the exceptionally high requirements placed on this class of security product. We strive to ensure that the car retains its properties despite the extensive armouring. The armour is fitted discreetly to make the car barely distinguishable from a standard XC90. Every customer also has their own unique requirements, which we satisfy by means of customised production,” says Green.
The Volvo XC90 Armoured (heavy) is available to order now and the first customer deliveries will be made at the end of 2019.
Volvo Cars also develops another version of the armoured car (light). This means that Volvo Cars has a full portfolio of cars able to offer high personal protection. These cars are built on the XC60 T6 AWD Inscription or XC90 T6 AWD Inscription. These vehicles, sales of which are scheduled to begin in the first half of 2020, are designed to offer lighter protection compared with the XC90 Armoured (heavy).