Lincoln Town Car BPS

Lincoln Town Car BPS - According to Lincoln, there are about 22,000 personal armored vehicles on the planet. Primarily modified by aftermarket specialists, this segment of the market has been largely ignored by automakers because of the small numbers of armored cars being sold. Lincoln now sees plenty of growth in the segment and plans on selling 300 or so of its Town Car BPS in 2005. Half the cars will be sold in the U.S., and the rest will undoubtedly find their way to the most dangerous places in the world.

Hidden steel plating and ceramic-aramid plating surround the passenger compartment behind the standard sheetmetal. Since most shots are taken at visible targets, the BPS car's glass is nearly 1.6 inches thick, or 40 millimeters, quite a bit thicker than the 5mm glass in most regular cars. The floor of the car even gets an aramid mat beneath the carpet that offers some security from a grenade attack.

The engine remains stock. A stronger police-car alternator and a limousine-spec transmission and rear differential are the only changes. The 0-to-60 time, not surprisingly, takes a full 12.0 seconds, the quarter-mile passes in 18.6 seconds at 77 mph. A normal Town Car achieves 60 mph in 9.5 seconds and the quarter-mile in 16.8 seconds at 82 mph.

It is designed to shield its occupants from danger and get them away from a threat as quickly as possible. It's prohibitively expensive, but for those three percent of owners who will experience an attack in their Town Car BPS, the extra dough will seem well spent.