German Car Forum

Do the thoughts of rival drug lords, suicide bombers, or AK-47 packing ex-lovers threaten to steal your last remaining ounce of sanity? Do you want the protection of a military grade vehicle without the hassles that go along with owning an M1 Abrams tank?

If the answer to these questions is yes, Centigon has just debuted a fleet of armored vehicles that may be exactly what you're looking for.

Based on the W221 Mercedes S-Class, the Centigon armored S-Class is perfect for those looking to combine comfort with security. Customers can opt for a number of body lengths, including standard, 20" stretch and 54" stretch, as well as a number of different security levels, including the ability to withstand anything from assault rifles or armor piercing ammo all the way up to explosive devices.

Of course, along with the heightened level of security comes the luxury already found in the new Mercedes S-Class. A few interior highlights include a walnut veneered division wall with or without screen, a console with multimedia functions, vis-à-vis seats, leather or velour covers in two-tone colors, and an executive business package.

If you're one of the elite few that actually requires such a vehicle, you can learn more of about the full lineup of armored Mercedes S-Class limousines by visiting Centigon's website.

looks ok in that pic. So this time, MB isn't gonna make a S-class pullman, right?

Exactly what I need

If only Bush could get one of these instead of those ugly cars he usually rides in

i think i posted one of these in the W221 pic thread.. its for sale in germany

Wonder how much it costs, would this be better than the factory armored car?

"better than the factory armored car?"
No, that would be extremly unlikely:

1. MB has decades of experience with amored cars, maybe even more than every other company still working.

2. The factory armored cars become armored with the knowledge of the construction (they always have the armored version in mind while constructing the ordinary car)

3. They become armored in an very early stage of production, while these external companys need to take complete cars and need to disassemble them.

There are so many things that can go wrong with a armored car, it starts with optical distortions, overloading chassis, bodys and even door joints...
Another big problem are "weak zones" which are very often not properly armored with cheaper solutions.

The only reasons for those companys are solutions, which are to dangerous or not matching philosophy and therefore are not avaible at factory.
And of course: the price...

The cheapest armor (B4) for the E-Class costs ~60.000€ that are more than 70.000$! For the armor alone - you still need to pay the car ;-)

All the german politicians drive factory armored cars - think of it...

Well why not? .....DaimlerChrysler is as much American as it is German.

The company is incredibly amazing and does MAJOR things, see the site for real info.

It is a great company ...I think it used to be called Trasco - but they changed the company name - 450SEL 6.9 (Ray) is the one who loves armoured vehicles and is the expert.

Like Roberto said, I'm a huge fan of these armoured cars. I have never seen an actual Trasco-built armoured Mercedes S-Class limousine. The pictures from that Trasco (now Centigon) website are just drawings. If anyone has a picture of the real thing, please direct me to it. I have lots of pictures of ordinary Trasco Mercedes S-Classes.

Here is a video on handling an armoured car.
http://www-video.daimlerchrysler.com...20030605_e.ram

I think this will be rather well protected, since Centigon has been in the business for quite some time, formerly as the companies TRASCO and (in my opinion anyway) more importantly formerly O'Gara, Hess and Eisenhardt as well (TRASCO and O'Gara along with some others were bought by Armor Holdings which was in turn acquired by BAE Systems)

O'Gara builds the tank that Bush rides in I believe
Cheers