New Range Rover Sentinel is here: Time for PM Narendra Modi to upgrade?

Land Rover Range Rover SUVs are known for their extreme capabilities and many world leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, uses fully armoured versions of the SUV to move around. Land Rover has launched an all-new version of the Range Rover Sentinel, which is the armoured version of the vehicle. Will we see the convoy of Prime Minister Modi getting upgraded to the new-age version of the SUVs?

The new version of the Land Rover Range Rover Sentinel is built by Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations, which is an in-house department of the British luxury car maker. It gets the armour in a way that the overall appearance of the vehicle remains identical to the regular non-armoured Range Rover. It is based on the top-of-the-line Range Rover Autobiography and offers similar features. The new vehicle will make its debut on 5th March at the Home Office Security and Policing Show in the United Kingdom.

The armoured vehicles are much heavier than their regular counterparts due to the additional weight of the armours and extremely heavy Bulletproof glass. This is why the new Range Rover Sentinal gets powered by the 5.0-litre Supercharged V8 petrol engine that generates a maximum power of 280 kW or 375 Bhp. This is much lower than the regular Range Rover powered by the same engine. In the Range Rover SVAutobiography, the same 5.0-litre supercharged V8 engine produces a maximum of 560 Bhp and a peak torque of 700 Nm.

However, the new Range Rover Sentinal produces around 39 Bhp more than the current Range Rover Sentinel, which gets powered by a V6 petrol engine. The new Range Rover Sentinel can do 0-100 km/h in just 10.4 seconds and the top speed is limited to 193 km/h.

The new Range Rover Sentinel gets VR8 ballistic protection that can keep the vehicle safe from most kinds of attacks including improvised explosive devices (IED). The video of the vehicle shows its off-road capability, which will come in very handy during emergency situations. It can also go through deep water crossings without much problem. Land Rover Special Vehicle division has also equipped the vehicle with a run-flat system that allows the vehicle to be driven for more than 50 km at speed of 80 km/h if the tyre is damaged. Also, the vehicle gets a siren and emergency flashers that are well hidden and flash emergency lights during an emergency to make way through the roads.

The Land Rover Range Rover Sentinel gets LED lighting system on the outside and people can also opt for optional Black Pack that adds black trim to the vehicle and makes it much more sophisticated.

The Land Rover Range Rover Sentinel is available for the private buyers too and due to a high level of customisation, the exact cost is not known. Land Rover also does not reveal the names of the customers who buy their Sentinel armoured vehicles.

Will we see Prime Minister Modi in a new Range Rover Sentinel?

It is highly unlikely as the vehicles used in the security of the Prime Minister and the President of India are chosen by Special Protection Group (SPG). Earlier, Prime Minister Modi used the BMW 7-Series High-Security sedan. Currently, he uses two Land Rover Range Rover armoured vehicles one from the previous generation and the other one is pre-facelifted version. He has been spotted in both the vehicles. Also, he has been spotted in a Toyota Land Cruiser armoured SUV. SPG vehicles can be used for years and are these vehicles are unlikely to be upgraded until there is a special requirement.