The new Rezvani Arsenal is a bulletproof Cadillac Escalade that can stop an AK47

Rezvani has unveiled its latest armoured SUV, and for some reason it has named it after the football team that finished second in the Premier League last season. Surely this should have been called the Rezvani Manchester City, or does boss Ferris Rezvani know something we don’t about those 115 charges?

Anyway, the Arsenal is essentially a rebodied Cadillac Escalade, and Rezvani claims that it was “aiming for a more minimalist style than the usual extreme designs seen in Rezvani vehicles”. Not sure we’d describe it as minimalist, but it’s certainly less in-yer-face than the Vengeance.

The Escalade’s 6.2-litre 420bhp V8 is standard fit, but Rezvani will supercharge it if you want to up that figure to 700bhp. Or, if range and fuel economy are particularly important in your very sensible family car, there’s also the option of a 3.0-litre turbodiesel. 

Prices start at $225,000, but if you want the full Rezvani experience you’ll need to pay an additional $145,000 for the Military Edition Package with full body armour. That adds composite armour plating to the bodywork that offers B6 levels of protection, meaning it’ll protect you from assault rifles like AR15s or AK47s and can even protect against armour piercing ammunition. Rezvani says that up until now composite armour in civilian vehicles was limited to B4 protection, and that using this rather than its steel counterpart saves around 500kg in weight. Yikes.

The Military Edition also brings with it a whole arsenal of protective tech, including (deep breath) bulletproof glass, underside explosive protection, a smoke screen, military-spec runflat tyres, night vision, reinforced suspension, EMP protection, steel bumpers, electrified door handles, strobe lights, blinding lights, an intercom system, magnetic dead bolts, gas masks and a pepper spray dispenser. Blimey, now we know why they picked that name. 

On the inside you can have seven or eight seats and pretty much any colour of leather that you can dream of. Rezvani says the Arsenal “embodies the company's mission to combine style and safety in a seamless fashion.”

Reckon we’ll see any top flight footballers rocking up to training in one next season?