Ab ki baar BMW car

Monday, May 26, 2014 marked a historic day for India; it was the swearing-in ceremony of the new Prime Minister of India. Unlike any other swearing-in the country had ever witnessed, this was the indeed the biggest. The Prime Minister of India had invited the whole SAARC nations including the Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for the event. On the day, Modi was driven to the Rashtrapati Bhavan in an armoured Scorpio, long used by him during the campaigns. But soon after assuming office, the Prime Minister ditched his favourite SUV for a BMW 760Li. The news was a delightful one for BMW India, for the vehicle found its way to the august office leaving behind its contenders like Mercedes M-Guard and Audi A8 Security. Modi even preferred to ignore the message from Mahindra. Mahindra had said it would be a matter of great pride and honour for Indians that the PM uses a vehicle designed, developed and built in India. However, the Special Protection Group (SPG) decided to go with the BMW, which turned out to be the most secured vehicle in the country.

Well, this was not the first time that an Indian Prime Minister had ditched an Indian made car. The decision to replace Hindustan Ambassadors with BMWs was taken by Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2003. The current fleet for Modi is said to have more than half-a-dozen BMW 760Li limousines including decoy vehicles, surrounded by a dozen BMW X5 SUVs used by the SPG.

Following it, BMW did not miss any chance to use it to its benefit, and launched the 760 Li Security in India. Philip Von Sahr, President, BMW Group India seemed like the happiest man on the planet. While talking to The Hans India, he said, “For seven decades, the flagship from BMW has stunned the world. This new vehicle represents the best we have to offer.”

The vehicle series did make a compelling individual statement convincing one not only with its high-quality, exclusive character, but also with its functionality. The BMW 760Li High Security provided an optimum safety in the individual mobility segment in combination with unparalleled comfort of travel, superior drive technology and an abundance of innovative equipment features to guarantee confident motoring at all times.

The series is designed to withstand a range of three risk situations – street crime (attacks with blunt objects and handguns up to a calibre of .44 Magnum), organised crime (attacks with the most commonly used automatic weapon in the world, the AK-47) and attacks with explosive devices and armour-piercing weapons.

Powered by a V12 engine, the car does 0-100kmph in 6.2 seconds and the top speed is electronically limited to 210 kmph.

The security concept was developed parallel to the existing 7 Series and the integration of safety components is an integral part of the vehicle production process at BMW’s Dingolfing plant. Specific chassis components are perfectly adapted to the increase in weight due to the sedans’ armour plating. Hence, reinforced suspension, dampers and suspension strut top mountings are part of the model-specific component range. This approach ensured finely-tuned vehicle performance characteristics that cannot be achieved by retro-fitted armour plating.

For the lesser gods, in order to ensure the confidentiality of its elite clientele, BMW provided exclusive consultancy and personalised sales and service support all across the country. BMW High-Security sedans are now serviced by certified special garages only. Access to the vehicles is restricted to very few select and specially trained personnel. As part of the special customer service, BMW offers special driver training programs for security vehicles.