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Car fleet offers protective layer
Mark Hollands for CNN
(CNN) -- More than 100 bulletproof cars are being made for world leaders and their ministers who are due to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-Operation (APEC) forum in Bangkok, Thailand, later this month. A special fleet of "7-Series" BMW models is being hand-made at a manufacturing plant in the Thai province of Rayong, which usually builds the 735i and 730i models for the German carmaker's Asian market. Specialist BMW drivers and security experts are training Thai police and security agents who will chauffeur the world leaders, a spokeswoman for BMW, Nadine Giusti, told CNN. The cars are designed to withstand explosive devices such as a roadmine, and armour-piercing, machinegun fire of up to 7.62 mm caliber. However, they will not quite have the amazing features of the BMW sedan featured in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies, in which the British secret agent could drive using a remote-control console while lying on the backseat. Each of the real BMW security cars will have a double-layer shell of steel. The inner shell is designed to take the impact of bullets or a large explosion. Weak points in a car, such as seams on the chassis, doors and the join of metal and glass are doubly reinforced by BMW's engineers. Passengers would not be aware they were in a bulletproof car unless they were told, Ms Giusti said. BMW's fourth generation of high-security car was unveiled under the 760i badge at the Geneva Motor Show in March. Company officials are reluctant to talk openly about its precise technical specifications. However, each model is certified by the German Federal Crime Office to meet the highest international rating for bulletproof security, B6/B7. The heavier body means the car's top speed is reduced from 250km/h to 210km/h, but BMW claims acceleration is not impaired. The high-security cars are usually made at its plant in Dingolfing, Germany, and test driven on the world-famous Nurburgring racetrack. The company says most of its customers are heads of state, government officials and businesspeople in the Middle East, Western Europe and the countries of the former Soviet Union. Ms Giusti said BMW held a pool of high-security cars for clients who needed to hire one at short notice. Buyers must sign up to a special buy-back agreement to ensure that their car does not fall into the "wrong hands", Ms Giusti said.
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