The official cars of heads of state are luxurious, appear powerful and have the highest safety standards. Because they should bring their occupants safely to their destination. With the new Federal Chancellor, there is now also a new limousine. Olaf Scholz relies on the Mercedes “S680 Guard” for this. What looks like a standard S-Class on the outside is a real colossus on four sides. The vehicle is specially designed for heads of state and business leaders and “meets (the) highest level of protection for civil vehicles,” says Mercedes.
The interior of the vehicle is surrounded by an aluminum outer skin, which, according to Mercedes, serves as a design cover and ensures an inconspicuous look. The car is thus armored and is intended to protect its occupants from explosions, for example. In order to ensure this, examinations by the Ulm Shooting Office were carried out beforehand with so-called biofidelic dummies, which are particularly similar to human bone and soft tissue. The doors of the Mercedes S-Class are so heavy because of their armor that an electro-mechanical system helps to open them.
In addition, the S680 Guard has a fire extinguishing system that is triggered automatically in the event of a fire attack and is intended to fight the fire. Furthermore, the vehicle occupants should be protected from the ingress of smoke or irritant gases and supplied with fresh air. Additional equipment includes a siren, strobe lights, radio equipment and an alarm system for people at risk.
Olaf Scholz’s company car should therefore serve as an escape vehicle in a dangerous situation. In the case of a flat tire, the vehicle can still cover a distance of 30 kilometers, according to Mercedes. Dirk Fetzer, Head of Product Management S-Class, is quoted as saying that he is “focusing on people and their safety”.
Scholz-Mercedes consumes 20 liters per 100 kilometers
Mercedes can pay for the luxury armored vehicle well. Its price is just under 550,000 euros. But the 4.2-ton car does not just go unnoticed by the state treasury. Olaf Scholz’s Tuesday car with all-wheel drive, 6L V12 engine and 612 hp will also be felt by the environment. According to the WLTP, its consumption is almost 20 liters per 100 kilometers.
Sources: Mercedes Benz, Southgerman newspaper, Südkurier, BBC, Southgerman newspaper