Armored Cars As A UHNWI?
Wondering if other UHNW individuals on here have any experience with using armored vehicles or armed chauffeurs and the like to complement their security detail. I'm worth around 300MM and am in the process of starting my own family office. I'm not too worried about my own safety, but rather for my SO (who despite being a former runway model at 5'11 weighs around 120lb so she's an "easy target") and the 2 children we have (9 and 15).
We live in the Greenwich/Stamford area but the kids frequently go to NYC, Boston, Philadephia, etc where things can get more dangerous. Our current arrangement is a small security detail for the household and an (unarmed driver) that brings the kids and wife wherever they want. We have a 6-man security detail (contracted from the likes of Gavin De Becker & Associates), who generally patrol the residence but one of them always accompanies the driver in the front seat when my family is heading out. A couple additional guards will follow discreetly in a separate vehicle tailing them if they're going to a high-risk area (poor neighborhood). We have an ad hoc setup for travelling in foreign countries, where we typically contract local security (generally expats) in greater numbers.
The current non-sports cars that we use to get driven around in is a Range Rover, S Class sedan and Porsche Cayenne.
Given the increased risk recently in gang violence and shootings, we were thinking of armoring our existing cars and found a few services offered for these
They would discreetly armor our vehicles so that it looks like a normal one from the outside to avoid unwanted attention, yet could protect against common gang weapons (rated for multiple 7.76mm shots per armor plate, which is more than enough for TEC-9s, Dracos and AR-15s and whatnot).
However, a part of me wants to go all in on the cool factor to wow my son for his birthday and get something ludicrous like pictures below which are essentially street-legal APCs to be driven around by chauffeurs for russian oligarchs/saudi oil tycoons in emerging countries. These are surprisingly affordable and generally start from 300-400K. They're designed to be resistant to .50 cal, mine/IED resistant, biological and chemical warfare protected and have a bunch of features that I never knew were legal like electrified door handles, road tack dispensers in the back as well as hand-operated small gunholes.
https://inkasarmored.com/sentry-apc-swat-armored-…
What is WSO's thoughts on getting armored vehicles of this type?
Wouldn't you want it to blend in and be ubiquitous, like the presidential armored vehicles?
Having those monster trucks will probably attract more unwanted attention
Visited a friend in Buenos Aires and he picked me up in an armored VW Passat. I didn't even know it was armored until we were in the car and riding and I rolled down the window and the glass was like an inch thick. I said to him - what's with these windows - are they bulletproof? He laughed and said 'yeah the whole car is armored and bulletproof.' Pretty impressive.
WTF does your friend do that warrants this?
I recently investigated this issue, as I have feared the worst for my own family for some time due to my wealth, and inclination to flaunt it in my neighbourhood of Monaco, St Tropez, and Cannes. The APCs are quite nice, but I actually ended up with something even less discreet: an AMX-10 RC.
Firstly, it was listed at a fantastic price at a military surplus auction where I got it for less than 100k EUR.
Secondly, there is a tax incentive, as the vehicle is registered as a veteran car, meaning reduced insurance premiums and lower annual road tax.
Thirdly, my French neighbours absolutely love it, as it is domestically produced and was used to liberate the French people in WWII, unlike most other bulletproof cars, which are oftentimes modified German cars, with all its historical liabilities.
Next, I am considering getting an amphibious vehicle, as traffic gets quite bad this time of year. However, I have not yet been able to find one that I can store at the dock beneath my house, and my beach is yet to be completed due to an argument with the idiot who is running the city and building department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur council. Hopefully, I'll be able to drive to my house in full-on Normandie style next year!
Picture below of my driver taking my son to school. No civilian gangs or quasi-military organizations will be able to harm him!
Confused until I saw who wrote this
thanks, I was about to respond
I think the rezvanis are pretty cool
Just get a bulldozer, an M60, some steel plates, and concrete, and you are good to go. I think the impound police auction in Granby Colorado might have one available.
Being a UHNWI from South America I have quite some experience with Armored/Bulletproof vehicles and security. My family has always owned bulletproof vehicles and when I was younger (before college) I used to have a security guard who would drive/accompany me everywhere.
Vehicle-wise, just get an SUV and have it prepared. I have owned 4 of these in the past decade (Level III Range Rover SVRs, Level IIIA G63, Level IIIA Audi RS6, Level IIIA SQ5). Those should be more than fine for your concerns and are relatively cheap. The SQ5 was horrible since the performance was heavily hindered due to the added weight of the armor, so I would focus on higher-powered engines that can sustain the weight. But I've seen friends buy Level IIIA vehicles that would blend in in Sao Paulo, so they would buy VW Tiguans and have those prepared, but this should be less of a concern in Greenwich.
Personally this is your best option.
https://www.reddit.com/r/WeirdWheels/comments/ob3z75/19992001_reliant_r…;
Having rolled in armored vehicles a long while back, getting in and out can be a pain in the ass due to the weight of the doors/glass. Not too bad for your average guy but if your wife is on the small side and running the kids around in it, something to think about. Also, depending on what vehicle it is it might be more prone to rollovers in addition to maintenance nightmares like if the armored glass gets stuck. Probably not an easy fix at local repair places.
Do those trucks have a faraday cage? When WWIII breaks out, you will be close to a major population center, and it’s important that the car still works if an EMP takes out the Eastern Seaboard…
If you have any worries about getting away undetected, I would highly recommend one of these. You could probably afford a down payment - call the HQ at (703) 280-2900 and they’ll get you set up. Tell ‘em Big Dawg sent you.
Bumping for visibility
Nobody who lives in Greenwich says they live in the Greenwich/Stamford area... So you live in Stamford?
Why not just get a cybertruck?
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