demand. It now armors everything from
Toyota Camrys to Mercedes-AMG G 63s
all the way up to NATO’s most stringent
armoring standards.
When it comes to meeting the needs
of its worldwide customer base, Alpine
usually confronts a dueling chicken
and egg scenario at the start of a vehicle
armoring process: Do you want thehighest possible level of armor, or do you
want your choice of any vehicle on the
market? “We can really armor anything,”
Khoroushi said, “but a lot of it comes
down to cost and feasibility for the client,
as well as practicality, too.” For example,
you could armor something like a Tesla
Model S or a Toyota Prius to stop massive
.50-caliber machine gun rounds, but it’lllikely end up being underpowered and
overweight—never a good thing when it
comes to armored vehicles. (Just ask the
average service member how much they
like driving sluggish armored Humvees.)
Instead, vehicles like the Mercedes
S-Class and G-Class, Toyota Land Cruiser
(and related Lexus LX 570), and Cadillac
Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, andWHAT IT
TAKES TO
MAKE AN
ARMORED
CAR
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