Anthony Albanese’s new ride is a serious upgrade on the Toyota Camry he was t-boned in while driving last year.
He now gets about in the Prime Ministerial limousine, nicknamed Commonwealth 1, a bullet-and-bombproof BMW 7 Series High Security, a heavily modified grenade-proof VR7/9 model.
Albo was taken to hospital after his Camry was t-boned by a 17-year-old P-plater driving a Black Range Rover last January.
Anthony Albanese’s new ride is a serious upgrade on the Toyota Camry he was t-boned in while driving last year
Albo now gets around in the Prime Ministerial limousine, nicknamed Commonwealth 1, a bullet-and-bombproof BMW 7 Series High Security, a heavily modified grenade-proof VR7/9 model (pictured a BMW 7 Series)
BMW tests the bulletproof capabilities of the Series 7 High Security range by firing at the windows and armour
The exact specifications of Commonwealth 1 are not publicly released to foil anyone planning to target the PM.
But plenty is known about the hardcore BMW 7 range of vehicles, which anyone can buy, if they can manage the entry-level $204,000 pricetag.
The Series 7 goes up to $383,000, but the High-Security range are more expensive again. Commonwealth 1 is believed to be worth about $600,000.
The PM’s modified car can withstand a roadside bomb, and has a protected armoured fuel tank and tyres that can function even when riddled with bullets.
It isn’t just bulletproof. It has overlapping armour plating up to 10cm thick that allows it to hold together in a bomb attack.
Albo’s new BMW isn’t just bulletproof, it has overlapping armour plating up to 10cm thick that allows it to hold together in a bomb attack.
A dramatic BMW security vehicle training video shows one of the cars that now makes up the COMCAR fleet driving through a bombing
The interior is basically a safety cell, a capsule created by the armour plating and 6cm thick polycarbonate windows.
It is equipped with sensors to ‘smell’ poison gases, which shut off airflow from outside and allow the occupants enough oxygen to stay shut inside for two hours.
Every vehicle has internal compartments for concealed weapons.
Anthony Albanese was rushed to hospital after a car crash in Sydney in January 2021 (pictured above)
It also has sensors that trigger a system to douse fires.
The car weighs 4 tons (3.7 metric tonnes), more than three times the weight of a BMW 3 30i M sport.
It has a 6.0-litre twin-turbo V12 engine and is slightly sluggish to reach 100km, taking 6.2 seconds because of its weight.
‘Each door weighs 250kg, so they’ll break bones. In some countries, these cars are considered weapons, a BMW executive told Wheels magazine.
Each window is 150kg and needs a custom high-powered motor to wind it up.
The fleet’s drivers have to undergo advanced training by BMW to handle the vehicle in all conditions, including under attack.
Despite the hardcore specs, BMW designs the cars to be difficult to tell apart from others in its range.
This is a safety feature, the company claims, to make potential assassins lose time in trying to tell the cars carrying VIPs apart from other models in a motorcade.
It has a 6.0-litre twin-turbo V12 engine and is slightly sluggish to reach 100km, taking 6.2 seconds because of its weight
The high security vehicle’s ordinary is a security feature to make potential assassins lose time in trying to tell the cars carrying VIPs apart from other models in a motorcade, BMW said
In a BMW safety video the company says security is a combination of the vehicle and the skill of the driver.
COMCAR, a branch of the Department of Finance, manages the $8million fleet of armoured BMW 7 Series which is used to carry top-ranking officials.
It also manages the accompanying fleet of armoured BMW X5 SUVs which support the military-grade sedans.
The Prime Ministerial and other ministerial limousines were Holden Caprices up until 2014 when the Abbott government switched to BMW for the fleet.
A spokesperson said Albanese was ‘heavily’ shaken following the his 202 car accident incident in Marrickville (pictured above)
At the time Holden complained it was overlooked for the fleet tender, which also had Audi and Mercedes Benz on the shortlist.
Then opposition industry spokesman Kim Carr claimed there had been a ‘vendetta’ against Holden.
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