Meet the bulletproof BMW X5

If you are a prominent public figure or a risk-exposed individual with enhanced security needs - say, a Big Brother contestant - then BMW will gladly relieve you of some of your wealth in exchange for the car above.

It's called the BMW X5 ‘Security Plus', and it's been armed up for battle.

So, like the bulletproof Mercedes-Benz S-Class we showed you a few weeks back, this X5 is a car for those likely to come under fire. It's been built around an armoured passenger cell, using high-performance steel mouldings and panels.

There are sealed joints around doors and where body pillars meet panels, and the glass gets a polycarbonate coating on the inside. To cope with the additional weight, BMW has also upgraded the X5's chassis, ECU and brakes too. Engine's a monster, though; it's BMW's 450bhp V8 turbo, mated to a four-wheel-drive system.

What does it all mean? BMW tells us this X5 meets the ‘VR6' safety level, and offers protection against ‘violent assault, kidnapping and organised crime'. It can withstand assault from the ‘world's most popular firearm', the AK-47, while the glass coating prevents flying splinters. Not the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' master, but actual flying splinters.

Like it? BMW will even personalise some of your security requirements too, including things like LED strobe lights in the radiator grille, roof beacons or a siren system.

If this doesn't take your fancy, though, there are more armoured vehicles you can purchase. Here's six more...

Six more bulletproof cars you can buy