The Toyota Fortuner is among India’s best-selling large SUVs and continues to dominate its segment. On top of that, the Toyota Fortuner SUV remains a favourite for many politicians in India.
That being said, prices for the Toyota Fortuner SUV starts from Rs 32.59 lakh (ex-showroom) and goes all the way up to Rs 50.34 lakh (ex-showroom) for the GR-S variant. However, this particular Toyota Fortuner SUV used by Dalai Lama costs Rs 1 crore.
Speaking about this one-off Toyota Fortuner, the Government of India provided the SUV for Dalai Lama to further bolster his protection in the country. Speaking of protection, this particular example features bulletproofing and hence the exorbitant price tag.
While Toyota does not provide bullet-proof Fortuner SUVs in India, there are a few private companies that can customise cars to protect passengers against lethal weapons. One such company is Minerva Special Purpose Vehicles (MSPV), which specialises in converting Fortuners into bullet-proof SUVs.
In this process, the weight of the Toyota Fortuner SUV jumps from 1.8 tons to 3.7 tons due to multiple layers of armour. In fact, MSPV offers armoured Toyota Fortuner SUVs that are capable of withstanding B4+ level assault.
Even the floor of the Toyota Fortuner has been reinforced to protect its occupants against bombs and other types of explosives. It is also worth mentioning that the armoured Fortuner from MSPV can withstand DM51 hand grenades and DM311 land mines.
While the armoured Toyota Fortuner looks identical to the standard model, mechanical components such as suspension and steering have been upgraded to handle the additional weight. Unfortunately, the powertrain remains the same and we expect the model to have limited performance.
While the armoured version of the Toyota Fortuner SUV may not look any different to the standard model, the former can definitely keep its occupants safe in case of any high-profile assaults. Given this ability to protect its passengers, Rs 1 crore does not seem like a steep price anymore.
