This $425K Armored EV Car Harnesses 1,234 HP And Is Way Sleeker Than A Cybertruck

The armored vehicles division of the US Armor Group—a company specializing in risk and threat mitigation—just announced the most "indestructible" EV ever using the top-flight Lucid Air Sapphire variant as the foundation. For a nice healthy sum of $425k to start, your 1,234-horsepower Air Sapphire can be equipped to withstand .44 magnum rounds with a surprisingly low hit to total curb weight. 

It's not often (if ever) an EV pops up on anybody's radar as a prime candidate for armored vehicle duty. When we think of VIP and government motorcades, the mental image is usually that of all-black Escalades, Suburbans, or a custom Cadillac plodding around their important passengers. However, US Armor Group is now offering something quite a bit more modern and with a way higher escape speed for those emergencies, something that even Bond wouldn't mind daily-driving.


The company is offering customers a chance to beef up their Sapphire purchase with a slew of protection features designed to protect passengers (or other important cargo) and prevent vehicular incursions. Starting at $425,000, the base package includes ballistic windows and military-grade armor capable of taking .44 magnum fire. Interestingly, that kind of protection doesn't add too much to the overall weight of the admittedly already porky car. Here, US Armor Group uses light weight composite armor that's 10 times stronger than ballistic steel while only adding 385 lbs to the 5,350 lbs curb weight. Not too shabby.

Also part of the base package are upgrades to the Wi-Fi network to make it supposedly unhackable. There's also an emergency call button when things do truly go sideways, and our guess is that instead of calling roadside assistance, that button connects you to the authorities and perhaps US Armor security service providers. Or may Batman.


If you prefer to go all in, the company also has more (expensive) options to get you halfway to fulfilling your childhood Knight Rider fantasies. Want to keep folks and prying eyes away from the car? There are electric door handles. How about poison gas detectors or hidden gun ports? And finally, if driving through a warzone is part of your regular commute (such as charging stations during the holidays), then definitely consider upgrading the armor plating, which can repel small explosives and all forms of expletives.

It makes sense why US Armor Group chose Lucid's premium sedan to showcase its armor and security features. Even within the high ranks of the EV world, Lucid's Air Sapphire stands at the top for not just its luxurious accoutrements, but for being one of the fastest electric four-door sedans on sale. With 1,234 hp channeled to all four corners, the Sapphire jets to 60 mph in 2.1 seconds, all the way up to 200+ mph maximum velocity, making it the fastest exclusively EV-powered car ever (as tested by Car and Driver). The publication also showed that the Sapphire's performance wasn't just confined in the straights either, breaking track lap records along the way, too.