South African armoured-vehicle specialist SVI Engineering has announced it has purchased a new Toyota Land Cruiser – the Land Cruiser 300 – to develop a “discreet” armouring kit for the Japanese car manufacturer’s flagship SUV.

Said SVI CEO Jaco de Kock, “It was important to purchase an early example of the Land Cruiser 300 to give [the] engineering team adequate time to develop the B6 assault rifle armouring kit before the bulk of the [Land Cruiser 300] allocation arrives on local shores.”

The Land Cruiser 300 is “even better suited” to VIP armouring needs than the Land Cruiser 200

According to the company, the Land Cruiser 300 is “even better suited” to VIP armouring needs than the Land Cruiser 200 – one of the most popular armoured vehicle models for the firm – thanks to its lighter body weight and more power and torque.

The engineering process will comprise stripping down the cabin to the bare metal to measure the available space for armouring. This process is done by a three-axis measuring and a 3D scanning tool to create a computer-aided-design (CAD) Land Cruiser 300 model. According to the firm, its “ultra-light, high-performance, composite materials” will be used to limit the mass in critical areas while stopping rounds fired from AK47, R5 and R1 assault rifles.

The armoured Land Cruiser 300 will receive suspension upgrades

The B6 armouring package comprises 38 mm armoured glass and special armoured steel plates in combination with composite materials. Owing to the predicted additional mass of 600 kg, the Land Cruiser 300 will also receive upgrades to its suspension setup.

SVI predicts the development process will take “around” two months two complete, while the converting the production units to this level of armouring specification is an “estimated” three months.

Although the final cost of the armouring package for the Land Cruiser 300 still needs to be determined, SVI expects a price of “around” R900 000 (excluding VAT) for the 360-degree B6 armouring solution.