AVs now and than...

Armored vehicles in the old days.

Back in the days, armored vehicles appearance was - let's call it '80s style. Due to an easier production process, faster production times and the lack of any modern political correctness, armored vehicles were allowed to look like a shoe-box on wheels, ready to tip over by the slightest attemp to drive a light bent.

Ballistic demands were lower, blast threats in many cases no issues, IEDs, VBIEDs or even EFPs only something the military was confronted with. But civil armoured vehicles, such as the famous Toyota Land Cruisers or the Mercedes S-Classes have ancestors that reach far back into the last century.

As always, the Germans brought it up - at least that is what they say... . One of the first professional armoured civil vehicles is claimed to be the "Big Benz" Typ W 07. This iconic piece of steel as well as its successors got famous for transporting popes, business men and of course mass-murderers (not at once).

Even back in these days, the W 150 was already equipped with 40mm armoured glass and 18mm of hardened steel. The engine fought its weight-battle together with two compressors that fired about 400hp to its back-wheels. Impressive figures, even for today.

Today, 40mm of armoured glass is not very impressive anymore. Modern vehicles tested up to VPAM BRV 2009 VR10 easily double this thickness. But 18mm steel plates are still quite impressive. Self-carrying OEM vehicle structures with combinations of aluminium, cast-aluminium, carbon-fibre, high-strength and/or hot formed steel panels make it not easy on OEMs and retrofitters to integrate armour up to latest standards in combination with durability and blast integrity.

Especially low cost productions have a hard time keeping up with these modern body designs as R&D costs are immense. Where the cheapest win the contracts, there is not much room for finite element analyses, live endurance or load testings, or even independent certifications via organizations like the Department Of Transport or the TÜV.

Cracking vehicle chassis are already a very common phenomenom, especially after a few years of hard operation in suspension unfriendly areas like war-zones or developing nations. With modern materials for frame- & body construction, these patterns of defects will increase. Lately some "news" out of unrialible sources announced that the all-new Toyota Land Curiser 200 successor will