Armored or unarmored? Mercedes-Maybach just recently announced their newest armored vehicle – the S600 Guard. Based on the Maybach S600, the S600 Guard features armor upgrades to keep heads-of-state, celebrities and the world’s elite protected.  Mercedes says the car features “innovative voice amplification”, so you can still yell at your attackers while being protected from steel-core ammo from an assault rifle.

Powering the gargantuan vehicle is the S600’s twin-turbocharged V12 with 523 horsepower and 612 lb-ft of torque. Armor protection includes special steel that is inserted between the unibody and outer body panels, which overlap at crucial points for “comprehensive ballistic protection”. Thicker windows are coated with polycarbonate to help the car achieve a VR10 armor rating.

Fun Fact:  VR10 armor protects occupants from all soft core bullets and most armor piercing and armor piercing incendiary bullets.

In addition to the VR10 armor rating, the S600 Guard also protects form explosives along the side of the car and under the passenger compartment – earning itself an ERV 2010 rating, which protects the passengers from a 15kg TNT explosive blast from 2 meters. With armored protection normally reserved for military vehicles, the S600 Guard is billed to offer the highest level of protection available on non-military vehicles.

No surprise here – you’re going to have to cough up quite a bit of dough to stay protected: about $518,000. The S600 Guard joins Mercedes’ G500, GLE and S-Class armored vehicle lineup.

Photos from Mercedes-Benz.