BMW 7 Series High Security: As hard as bomb-proof nails

Picture the scene: you and your diplomat buddies are rolling down the backstreets of Soho when out of a sex shop swarms a brigade of fanatical insurgents, who proceed to rain rocket-propelled grenades at your motorcade.

Ordinarily, you'd be a sitting duck, but BMW's answer to Q Branch has a solution. It's just announced the new 7 Series High Security -- an armoured vehicle that's the first to comply with the stringent VR6/VR7 security standard, meaning it can withstand all manner of ballistic and gas attacks.

The 6cm-thick safety glass is bulletproof, while the passenger cell has its own air supply to protect against gas attacks and is resistant to rocket-propelled grenades. The roof, meanwhile,  has protection against two simultaneously detonated DM51 hand grenades, and the floor can withstand grenades of the DM51, RGD5, M67 and L2A2 variety. And land mines. And it has an under-floor extinguisher that can put out the subsequent fires.

Should you grow weary of terrorists chipping the paint on your shiny new ride, you can either reach for the centre-mounted machine gun, or rely on the car's powerful engine to facilitate an expeditious departure. In top-end 760Li guise, its 544bhp 6-litre V12 will reach 0-62mph in a not-unreasonable 6.2 seconds. Interestingly, the standard car does the same sprint in just 4.6 seconds, which gives us a clue as to the amount of extra armour the High Security Seven is carrying.

Prices are available on application, but needless to say, it'll cost a tad more than the standard £94,000 760Li. Click through for pictures in our photo gallery.