Engine block of a Volkswagen Polo before its AK47 meet
While it rates among one of South Africa’s best-selling new vehicles with a loyal fanbase, the greater majority of Volkswagen Polo owners are unlikely to subject it to heavy artillery no matter it’s age or condition.
Famed South African armoured vehicle manufacturer, SVI Engineering, is renowned for doing the unexpected though and while it continues to roll out bulletproof vehicles ranging from Ford Rangers to Nissan Patrols.
Its most recent venture involves an AK47 and the block of a Polo engine. In what seems more like a segment from the much-loved Discovery programme, Mythbusters, the set-up Photron Fastcam SA4 high-speed camera captures the moment, at 30 000 frames per second, the single round of 7.62 mm x 39 mm comes into contact with the four-cylinder engine.
Although it wasn’t specified as to which generation Polo the engine has been sourced from, bullet failed to penetrate the block despite leaving its mark without trouble.
“When it comes to gunfire, it’s sometimes said one of the only reliable areas of cover on a standard vehicle is directly behind the engine block. So, is this an accurate claim?” SVI CEO Jaco de Kock said of the experiment.
“While it depends on exactly where the sample is hit, we decided to carry out our own test, securing a VW Polo engine block at end of our underground shooting range, mounting an AK47 in our test rig and pulling the trigger”.
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According to SVI’s Business Development Director, Nicol Louw, “while an engine block may well be capable of stopping an AK47 round, it provides only limited cover at best.
“In contrast, our 360-degree level B6 armouring packages have been meticulously engineered to minimise ballistic gaps, offering vehicle occupants the ultimate level of protection”.
Earlier this month, a similar experiment, which forms part of SVI’s “Shoot Through Series”, saw the same bullet from the same gun pierce the outer rotor of a brake disc from a Toyota Land Cruiser 79 without going all the way through.
The results of the above mentioned video can be viewed here.
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