At the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, BMW has setup a “secret room” where some of their high-profile customers were allowed to see the BMW 760i High Security vehicle. Due to the extensive changes made to the production vehicle, BMW has renamed the security 7er to F03. Recently, the Security Vehicle were transferred under the command of M Division and therefore our recent interview with Dr. Kay Segler, BMW M boss, took place in this secret room as well. Our sister-magazine BimmerToday took the time to photograph the car from up-close.

The BMW 760i High Security and the BMW 750i High Security are the first models in the world to be certified to BRV 2009 and both vehicles meet the requirements of the new ballistic protection level VR7. Due to their highly effective protective armor, the non-transparent body areas of the BMW 760Li High Security and the BMW 750Li High Security meet the requirements of the ballistic protection level VR9.

Both models have an electronically limited top speed of 210 km/h. The newly developed V12 unit of the BMW 760i High Security outputs 544 hp at an engine speed of 5,250 rpm. Peak torque of 750 Nm comes at 1,500 rpm. The 6.0-liter 12-cylinder engine is matted to the ZF eight-speed automatic transmission, taking the BMW 760i High Security from zero to 100 km/h in as little as 6.2 seconds.

Specific chassis components are perfectly adapted to the increase in weight due to the sedans’ armor plating. Hence, reinforced suspension, dampers and suspension strut top mountings are part of the model-specific component range. This approach ensures finely-tuned vehicle performance characteristics that cannot be achieved by retrofitted armor plating.

Reinforced vehicle-specific armour plating made from special steel as well as newly developed safety glazing protect the passenger compartment in particular from attacks of all kinds. The passenger compartment is protected by armour plating of the doors, the roof, the pillars, the front footwell and the separation wall between passenger and luggage compartments. The steel panels, which were manufactured by means of a special technique, fit the body contours perfectly. The model-specific gap sealing ensures that critical areas such as door cut and body joint lines are safely sealed.

The sedans’ undercarriage is armored by special plating which was developed with a particular focus on maximum explosion protection. Another new development is the sedans’ 2.4” (6 cm) safety glazing. Due to its innovative structure, the multi-layer laminated glass cover provides a unique level of resistance. The window panes are covered with a polycarbonate layer on the inside in order to prevent shattered glass particles from penetrating the interior.

The stopping distances of the heavy 760i High Security vehicles are significantly longer than in normal sedans.

Most of the BMW 7 Series High Security customers come from the Middle East or Russia. Customers in the United States are yet to be named.