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The world's most extreme vehicle built in Toronto
by Tom Fennell, Yahoo! Canada Finance
Friday, October 15, 2010
It’s late at night, and you’re heading back to the city after a weekend at your palatial country estate when the thermal imaging night vision camera on your Knight XV armoured vehicle picks up something suspicious ahead.
You don’t want to take chances, so you flick on the roof-mounted search lights as your passengers, who’ve been relaxing in the back watching a large flat panel TV, quickly stow their valuables in the on-board safe. It turns out just to be a stalled car and you roll on.
The Knight on the truck’s name plate represents the armoured-clad knights of lore and XV stands for extreme vehicle.
And the Knight XV, built by Conquest Vehicles of Toronto,ONt., which marries the luxury of a Mercedes with the strength of a Sherman tank, is definitely one extreme vehicle.
At 13,000 pounds and 400 horsepower, it makes a Hummer look like a Mini.
And it comes wrapped in military grade ballistic armour that is strong enough to stop an armour-piercing bullet, gunfire from an AK-47 or the destructive force of a hand grenade.
If you’re in a serious jam and need to create a diversion to escape, some models even come equipped with James Bond-inspired side and rear-mounted security system that emits a covering cloud of smoke as the driver races to safety.
A magnetic detector attached under the vehicle can also alert the driver when a remote-control bomb or a tracking device has been attached to the Knight XV.
And don’t worry if the bad guys shoot out your tires, the Knight XV can run flat on rims made of steel that is the same strength as that used in the wheel rims on massive passenger jets.
“No matter what happens,” says Conquest president and founder William Maizlin, “you’re in an armoured plated cocoon. You’re safe.”
A fully loaded Knight XV costs nearly US$800,000, and oddly as it sounds this armoured-clad behemoth is being built in Toronto, far from violent destinations like Iraq where its blast-proof plating just might come in handy.
Maizlin spent 14 years working in the armoured vehicle business, some of which were bound for Iraq.
But earlier in the decade he assembled a team of automotive engineers in Toronto to design and build the world’s most secure car. And they did so by vastly increasing the amount of armour and thickness of the bullet-proof glass.
While the outside is as tough as a tank, the inside is spa-like. There is a wide-panel television and heated, leather seats worthy of an expensive private jet which can be arranged in a board-room style for businesses or placed side by side for cruising.
And of course it comes with bar, cooler and cigar humidor.
For drivers who are particularly nervous, the four cameras mounted on the vehicle can broadcast to their laptop, so that when the passengers are having lunch they can monitor the vehicle. Or for that matter, the vehicle’s cameras can spy on who is coming and going from the restaurant.
The Knight XV is selling so well that Maizlin is planning to expand his manufacturing facility. And he intends to open dealerships over the next few years in the United States, South America and the Middle East.
He has orders from wealthy people and governments around the world.
NBA all-star Dwight Howard owns one, and Pauly D DelVecchio of the television show Jersey Shore arrived at the MuchMusic Video Awards in one. And Maizlin says a client in Las Vegas who ordered one wanted it painted candy apple red to match his 57 Chevy.
“These are wealthy people who are looking for security,” says Maizlin. “But they also want to make a grand entrance – a statement.”
The vehicle is proving popular in the Middle East where members of the Saudi royal family and other members of the ruling elite.
“The wives of some of our clients are driving their kids to school in them,” says Maizlin. “They like it because it’s safe and easy to drive, and the kids like the XV because they think it is out of the Transformers movie or something Batman should be driving.”
One Saudi sheik was so anxious to get his hands on one that he demanded it be shipped in a week’s time. The shipping costs alone came in at $50,000.
The nouveau riche of China and Russia have also been placing orders and Maizlin says governments around the world are considering buying them to transport visiting dignitaries and heads of state. He has also had discussions with the military, but declines to elaborate.
A vehicle this powerful and secure would also seem to be attractive to drug dealers and other organized crime groups.
Maizlin says he has had to turn down some orders because he was suspicious, and before he sells one, he conducts an exhaustive screening.
And that probably is a good idea, because once it starts moving, the Knight XV is one tough vehicle to stop.
they could of at least refined the design a bit more. No billionaire/world leader is going to roll around in a garbage truck and look like it's delivering bank notes.
The imposing utilitarian look is part of the entire package, and the whole armoured vehicle aura.
Look at it. Would you even bother shooting at it, or trying to ram it off course? This thing is a sledgehammer on wheels. It's engineered for protection, the angled look is directly from the function of ballistic protection, some call it ugly, but there's no argument that it's safe.
This is Canada's answer to the armoured vehicle.
It makes the H2 look like it's neutered
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Last edited by CanadaGoose; 10-20-2010 at 12:35 AM.
If I ever see one of these on the road, I will go out of my way to get away from it. While there's just a remote chance that someone will try to attack it, my main concern is that it weighs twice as much as a monster truck and that can't be enough tire to stop without destroying cars ahead in a fender bender.
On it's own it's more like a heavy coffin with wheels
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