Automail.ru portal published a review of the armored Mercedes-Maybach S 600 Guard, in particular comparing it with our SUV Toyota Land Cruiser. Experts, paying tribute to the comfort of Maybach, pointed out that our vehicles are more secure and in terms of level of protection are comparable with military ones.

Of course, the comparison with "the coolest VIP-armored car" is very flattering, yet we would like to clarify a few points.

Most importantly, the levels of ballistic and blast protection are regulated by various standards. Classes VPAM VR (9, 10, 11, etc.), mentioned by the author of the article, regulate ballistic protection only (VR means that the vehicle itself was tested, not just the materials it was made of). Note that although our vehicle is certified to the protection level VR 10, not VR 11 as stated in the article, the level VR 11 does exist (a table with all the levels VPAM are available here. The level VR 11 differs from the VR 10 in that it can stand a tungsten carbide bullet, which is used very rarely though due to high prices and tight distribution control. For example, even German military vehicles used in Afghanistan had a level of protection STANAG 3-, which roughly corresponds to VPAM 10.

The thickness of armor steel needed for protection according to the level VPAM 11 is 22 mm, compared to 18 mm for VPAM 10 it is about 25% more, so the statement "the difference between VPAM 10 and VPAM 11 is insignificant" is not entirely correct.

In turn, the protection against explosions is certified by other standards, which regulate the distance between the vehicle and the mine, the position of the explosive device, the type of explosive, weight, etc. One of the main standards is NATO STANAG 4569; another one is European VPAM ERV 2010. Note that our vehicle protects against different types of explosions – under the bottom, on the roof, on the side and under the wheel.

Aurum Security was the first company in the world that has developed an armored civilian vehicle according to the ballistic level VPAM VR 10. By the way, contrary to the Mercedes we do not keep the protection level against blasts as a secret - a diagram illustrating levels of protection of our vehicles can be found here.

According to the article on www.auto.mail.ru