Car Review: 2005 Lincoln Town Car- Armored

It takes approximately 300 hours and four build technicians to fully outfit the interior of one BPS in a cocoon of armor.

The Town Car BPS stops high-powered rifle rounds with glass 1.6 inches thick

Lincoln Town Car - Armored
By Carey Russ

SEE ALSO: New Car Buyer's Guide for Lincoln

Well, here's the Lincoln Town Car. This one isn't quite a standard model. Limo drivers I've talked with love their Town Cars for their reliability and dependability, and have been known to call them ``bulletproof.'' This one really is bulletproof - as in armored, with inch-and-a-half thick windows as well.

I open a rear door to get in the back seat. There is an old cliche about the door of a luxury car sounding like the door to a bank vault when it closes - this one brings that to life. Heavy as a bank vault door, too - watch your fingers and feet. Once inside, it's like any other Town Car, soft, cushy, and comfortable, with plenty of room.

The view is a little distorted through the thick sandwich material of the windows, and the pillars are a little wider than usual. Allegedly, the car can withstand rounds from an assault rifle at close range. Sounds like a perfect taxi - for downtown Baghdad.

I drive it about 2 miles. This car weighs 7,000 lbs and feels it. ``Nimble'' and ``quick'' are not in its vocabulary. But, then, with all the armor, I don't suppose out-running the bad guys was in the design spec....

Lincoln Town Car Ballistic Protection Series (BPS) Press Release and Specs

DEARBORN, Mich., April 2, 2004— The 2004 Town Car Ballistic Protection Series (BPS), Lincoln's first production armored vehicle, arrived in dealerships April 2004 with the highest standard level of ballistic protection commercially available from any automotive manufacturer in North America.

Unlike protection vehicles that are outfitted on an "aftermarket" basis, the full-size four passenger Lincoln Town Car BPS sedan has been designed, engineered and tested by Ford Motor Company to provide armored protection without compromising driving performance, crash durability or luxury offerings found in a typical Lincoln Town Car.

"Luxury and elegance have been hallmarks of Lincoln vehicles for more than eighty years," said Darryl Hazel, Lincoln Mercury president. "The Lincoln Town Car BPS now makes it possible for people to not just travel well -- but travel well protected."

There are six Lincoln dealers certified to sell the Town Car BPS in North America. Authorized Lincoln dealers are required to complete sales and service training requirements before being certified to sell the vehicles. Certified dealers in the U.S. include:

• Acton Lincoln Mercury: Acton, Massachusetts
• Manhattan Lincoln Mercury: New York, New York
• Cherner Lincoln Mercury: Annandale, Virginia
• Miami Lincoln Mercury – Miami, Florida
• John Eagle Lincoln Mercury: Dallas, Texas
• Galpin Lincoln Mercury – Van Nuys, California

Competitively priced starting at $144,995, the vehicles will also be sold through a small number of certified dealerships in Canada, Mexico, the Middle East and in other markets around the world through Ford's Worldwide Direct Market Organization.

The Town Car BPS is expected to introduce new customers to the Lincoln brand. Prospective customers include corporate executives, political dignitaries, government agencies, private citizens and leasing agencies.

The BPS is built to demanding specifications and ballistic testing from independent laboratories. Nearly 300 OEM tests ensures quality, durability, craftsmanship and crash performance. The Lincoln Town Car BPS satisfies high-powered assault rifle test standards that fall under the National Institute of Justice Level III, as well as rounds covered by the proposed NATO Level I.

While many competitive security vehicles limit their defense to protection against handguns, the Town Car BPS neutralizes rounds from a range of firearms from a .38 special and .357 Magnum handguns to high-powered, high-velocity assault rifles like a 9mm submachine gun, 7.62mm and 5.56mm rifles.

Some advanced ballistic materials employed in the vehicle include:

Ballistic Steel: A cocoon of bullet-resistant plates of ballistic steel in the interior help fortify the advanced ceramic technology used in Town Car BPS with the integrity only steel can provide. The ballistic properties of each batch of steel are tested and verified before being shipped to Lincoln.

Military Grade Ceramics: Key to the bullet-resistant characteristics of Lincoln Town Car BPS is advanced, defense-inspired ceramic composite technology. Used for some vertical surfaces, this ceramic composite material employs an acutely hard strike face to break up bullets and disperse their energy.

Ballistic Transparencies: Attackers tend to shoot at what they can see. For this reason, Lincoln Town Car BPS is equipped with ballistic transparencies more than 40 mm thick and capable of stopping high-powered rifle rounds.

Interwoven Aramid Fiber: A thick ballistic blanket of Aramid fiber on the undercarriage helps provide limited blast protection. Similar to the material used in soft body armor, these sophisticated threads are woven together and act like a catcher’s mitt to stop shrapnel from entering the passenger compartment.

Run-Flat Inserts: Lincoln Town Car BPS comes equipped with run-flat inserts that allow the vehicle to keep moving even when tire pressure is completely compromised. These polymer wheel inserts allow 30-mph speeds for up to 30 miles depending on road and driving conditions.

Unlike aftermarket conversions whose warranties are often limited to as little as one or two years, the Town Car BPS comes with a standard Lincoln warranty of four years or 50,000 miles for all regular and ballistic systems on the vehicle. The special glass carries a three-year/36,000-mile warranty.

Critical to the security needs and anonymity of Town Car BPS customers, every effort was made to keep the exterior appearance of the Town Car BPS identical to a standard Town Car. This includes ride height, special window cavities to accommodate thick ballistic transparencies, and exterior badges and trim that are no different from the base car.

While the exterior is virtually indistinguishable from the Town Car Executive Series, the interior is wrapped in luxury with rich leather, polished satin-nickel settings and walnut burl accents.

The rear seat of the Town Car BPS comes equipped with a table console and two supplementary power points in the center position. In total, the BPS is equipped with five power points in the passenger compartment and trunk.

There are two options available on the Town Car BPS: power rear windows with a patented gas-strut lift system for $2,995, and a modified fuel tank to reduce leakage after a ballistic event for $1,995.

The Town Car BPS stops high-powered rifle rounds with glass 1.6 inches thick and is surrounded by bullet-resistant steel and lightweight ceramic panels that shatter bullets on impact. Attention to detail is key in the hand-built armoring process of each Lincoln Town Car BPS. It takes approximately 300 hours and four build technicians to fully outfit the interior of one BPS in a cocoon of armor.

Lincoln Town Car BPS also delivers the ability to escape as quickly as possible thanks to a 4.6-liter V-8 coupled with specially tuned, heavy-duty springs and shocks. Utilizing advanced ballistic materials enables Lincoln to not only achieve a higher level of ballistic protection, but to also limit vehicle weight. The result is a durable and well-balanced chassis that can be driven with confidence.

2004 LINCOLN TOWN CAR BALLISTIC PROTECTION SERIES
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS*

Vehicle Type: Four-door, four-passenger full-size sedan