SVI fires armoured price salvo at Mercedes-Benz V-Class

Having already showed its prowess by armouring Toyota Land Cruisers and Hiluxes, Ford Rangers, Volkswagen Amaroks and most recently the Nissan Patrol, armoured vehicle manufacturer, SVI Engineering, has set its sights on the Mercedes-Benz V-Class buyers will be able to order from September this year.

Level of protection

A joint venture with the three-pointed star, the B4 package adds almost 400 kg to the V-Class’ 2 145 kg kerb mass, and comprises 21 mm ballistics glass, custom armoured steel plates integrated into the roof pillars and lightweight Kevlar panels.

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Able to withstand attacks from handguns up to and including a .44 Magnum, the package can be substantiated further by an optional PA system and B4 upgrades to the floor and roof.

Aesthetically and internally, the armoured V-Class remains unchanged and as a result of being based on the top-spec V300d, derives motivation from the 2.0-litre OM 654 turbodiesel engine that pumps-out 174kW/500Nm routed to the rear wheels through the 9G Tronic automatic transmission.

Mercedes-Benz approves

“We take great pleasure in announcing the availability of this special B4 conversion of the V-Class, in collaboration with SVI Engineering,” Mercedes-Benz Vans South Africa Head of Product and Marketing, Marinus Venter, said.

“The B4-armoured V-Class retains the luxurious spaciousness and performance of the original vehicle, but with the added benefit of ballistic protection. We trust that this added safety will provide our customers with more peace of mind on the road”.

SVI CEO Jaco de Kock added, “Over the past few years, we’ve noticed an uptick in demand for armoured luxury people movers. There’s no better example of this genre of vehicle than the V-Class, so we were delighted to partner with Mercedes-Benz Vans South Africa to make this OEM-backed conversion a reality”.

Price

Priced from R960 750, which excludes the V300d itself, the B4 package carries SVI’s standard one-year/50 000 km warranty in addition to the seven-year/140 000 km maintenance plan all V-Class’ have as standard.

Retailing from R1 754 412, the V300d range spans three derivatives, Avantgarde, AMG Line and Exclusive with the mid-range variant carrying a sticker of R1 843 022 and the latter a starting price of R2 042 471.

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