Listen up, barons of business, arms smugglers, and anyone who actually found a proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: Inkas Armored Vehicle Manufacturing in Toronto, Canada, has created a new armored Mercedes-Benz Sprinter that makes one of our favorite guilty pleasures even awesomer.
Armored Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
Using the Sprinter’s bone-stock dualie frame, the Inkas Sprinter can carry an additional 1200 pounds of payload—that’s a lot of blood diamonds—thanks to its custom-built, composite body shell that uses lightweight armoring materials. The standard sliding door was replaced by a side-hinged piece, which Inkas says is better for security, offers improved ballistic protection, and is easier to operate. Both sides of the van even come with a little square window that reminds us of a bubble window on a ’70s-vintage Dodge Tradesman.
Armored Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
The interior looks like the inside of bank vault, fittingly enough, and is separated into three compartments. The driver and a passenger sit up front, a guard occupies the middle compartment, and the load of precious cargo goes in the back, with each area separated by a wall and a door. We’re not sure what the thing weighs, but we’re relatively sure that it doesn’t weigh as much as most armored vehicles. Power comes from the Sprinter’s 3.0-liter diesel V-6 mated to a five-speed automatic transmission.
Armored Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
If you are, as were we, mildly disappointed that the Inkas Sprinter doesn’t come with Mad Max–style bumper guards or a turret on top, consider the advantage of carrying a billion dollars in cash (which would be a lot, even in Canadian dollars) around in something that looks like a flower-delivery van rather than a 10-ton Class 6 rolling brick that screams “I’m carrying the Hope Diamond and enough cash to buy a large Mediterranean island!” We’re thinking that stealth trumps ego in such situations, eh?
Via Car and Driver
