Image: Rezvani
Image: Rezvani
Image: Rezvani
Image: Rezvani
Image: Rezvani
Image: Rezvani
Image: Rezvani
Image: Rezvani
Image: Rezvani
Take a Cadillac Escalade, shape the exterior to look like a science fiction video game concept car and slap an R11 million price tag onto it. That was the brief for the Rezvani Vengence which comes equipped with bulletproof armour, pepper spray defence and electrified door handles.
Image: Rezvani
Like many new cars these days, ticking the options list very quickly adds zeros to the end of the price tag. For those wanting the menacing looks of the Rezvani Vengence at a cheaper price tag, the California-based automaker offers a $250 000 (R4,5 million) three-row SUV that just looks tough.
For those wanting civilian transport with military specifications, the price tag can go all the way up to R11 million. What the model will then include is armoured body panels, bulletproof glass, run-flat tyres, thermal-night vision, pepper spray defence, smoke screen and magnetic deadbolts for the doors to name a few. Not to mention, Rezvani also includes occupants’ apparel in the form of bulletproof vests, helmets and gas masks to ensure maximum safety from an external threat.
Image: Rezvani
Since it is based on a Cadillac Escalade, it comes with all of the same interior amenities and comfort that normally wafts passengers around in American style. CEO, Ferris Rezvani has done away with the stately American automaker body. Instead, the brief for the Rezvani Vengence was quite different: “The goal was to put a science fiction video game concept car in people’s driveways.”
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Video game and sci-fi aesthetics require someone with a fair amount of experience in that industry which is why Rezvani brought Milen Ivanov, a video game vehicle developer, onto the project to design the formidable SUV. Underneath, the inner workings remain the same. This includes leather seats for 8 occupants, a sizable OLED display, heated and ventilated seats, a heads-up display, a panoramic roof and navigation with augmented reality – still a classy Cadillac after all.
Image: Rezvani
Powering the model is a choice of GM’s 3,0-litre inline-six Duramax diesel good for 207 kW or a 6,2-litre V8 with a meagre 313 kW. If that is insufficient, the supercharged powertrain from the Escalade-V can be thrown into the engine bay, the 515 kW here equipping the Rezvani Vengence with the ability to outrun most lethal threats.
Keyword: Bulletproof luxury all wrapped up into the R11 million Rezvani Vengence