2008 Gmc Yukon Armored Suv Stage 4 Bulletproof Limo on 2040-cars

2008 GMC Yukon Armored Stage 4 PSV

OVERVIEW

The Tjaarda Personal Security Vehicle (PSV) is a landmark civilian mode of transportation.  The PSV is the safest, most secure vehicle designed for inconspicuous travel.  Although it will look like a high end SUV, it offers many features not found in armored vehicles currently on the market.  Designed and engineered as an armored vehicle, it will incorporate many of the latest technologies available

The TJAARDA PSV is an armored vehicle specifically designed and engineered for the civilian market place.  The purchase of civilian use armored vehicles has grown at the rate of over thirty percent (30%) per year for the last several years.  

Market data indicates the sale of more than 30,000 civilian use armored vehicles last year.  These vehicles were retrofits of vehicles designed for everyday use and are, by and large, highly compromised vehicles.  The robust, ever increasing, sales of armored vehicles for civilian use represent pent up demand, not outstanding competitive products.  The TJAARDA PSV is reengineered from the ground up to be superior to the retrofit vehicles of the competition.

DESIGN

The Tjaarda PSV is designed by Tom Tjaarda, one of the world’s foremost designers.  Tjaarda has designed more than 90 automobiles, including the FERRARI CALIFORNIA SPYDER, the DE TOMASO PANTERA, and the FIAT 124 SPIDER.  He has designed trucks, military vehicles, armored vehicles, electric vehicles, boats, and much more.   Not only did Tom Tjaarda designed Ford’s bestselling car ever, the Ford Fiesta, which even out sold the venerable Ford Model T, he designed one off show cars, such as the Pininfarina “Rondine”  which brought $4.9 million at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction and then won in its class at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.  

The Tjaarda PSV delivers:

•         Exclusive limited edition vehicle

•         Sleek Tjaarda designed body and exterior

•         Luxurious leather interior with polished burled hardwood dash

•         Spacious executive style interior

•         The latest Navigation and Sound Systems

PERFORMANCE

There is excitement in driving the Tjaarda PSV.  Finally, an armored vehicle that affords protection is immediately responsive in all environments and is fun to drive.   The powerful General Motors V8 engine provides plenty of performance and the engineering of the chassis allows extreme maneuvers in the most demanding situations on and off the road.  Highlights include:

•         6.2 Liter V8 SFI Engine

•         Nearly 400  Horsepower –  speed limited to 155 MPH

•         6 speed automatic transmission

•         4 wheel drive with automatic locking rear differential

•         Stabilitrak stability control with traction control

•         Capable of operating safely in extreme on and off road conditions

ENGINEERING

Armoring – The body panels of the Tjaarda PSV have been designed and engineered with state of the art materials to withstand the internationally agreed standards of armament for ballistic defense.  Many of the armoring techniques are Proprietary, Classified Company Trade Secret and/or Patent Pending.

The armored glass is made by Isoclima S.p.A., an Italian company that is one of the world leaders in the glass industry.   ISOCLIMA has been developing new technologies since 1977 for the production of composite laminate glass with polycarbonate for the armored vehicle industry and the ballistic protection of high-risk environments.  The latest technology glass which has been in development for decades is in the Tjaarda PSV.  It is 32mm thick, which qualifies for level B4+ armament specifications.  Isoclima armored glass is also readily available in up to 40mm, depending on desired level of protection.

The 20” all aluminum wheels are specifically designed engineered and produced by Alcoa for the armored Tjaarda PSV.  Alcoa is the world leader in the production and management of primary aluminum, serving the aerospace, automotive, commercial transportation and industrial markets in the production and management of aluminum. Alcoa makes a very sustainable product with more than 70% of the aluminum ever produced since 1886 still in use. The forged one piece wheel has the design appearance of a two piece wheel, but the strength of a one piece forged wheel.  All PSV wheels have Rodgard Low Profile Run Flat Tire Inserts that have been custom designed for this wheel and this vehicle.

Chassis – Multimatic Technical Centre, of Markham, Ontario, Canada, developed a finely tuned chassis with the goal of minimizing the degradation in vehicle dynamics and braking performance caused by the additional weight of the armoring package.  Multimatic is a global leader in the engineering, development and manufacture of automotive suspension systems and components, supplying OEM’s and leading motorsports teams, including F-1 race teams, with a full suite of development services and leading edge performance products. 

Brakes – After reviewing all the leading brake manufacturing companies, two braking systems were identified for testing, Performance Friction Corp (PFC) and Baer were assessed.  During extreme testing, the preferred system was PFC. The stopping performance of the PFC system was very impressive, providing the ability achieve near 1g deceleration with no degradation in stopping distance after ten consecutive stops from 60mph.

Tires - Numerous tires from all the major manufactures were evaluated and the preferred option is the General ‘Grabber’ 275/55/20 Extra Load. This tire provided the best combination of ride and limit handling performance, and also demonstrated excellent wear characteristics and resilience during repeated handling maneuvers.

TESTING

Armoring - International Ballistic Armor Standards testing was done at various private and National Laboratories, including Oregon Ballistic Laborites, LLC of Salem, Oregon, USA.  The following established armor standards were used: 

•         National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Standard 0108.01

•         European Committee for Standardization (CEN) Standard EN 1063

•         Oregon Ballistic Laborites (OBL) Test Standards

Additionally, various armoring companies, material suppliers and test facilities were used to verify armoring products used in the PSV.  The attained goal of the armor solution on the PSV is to defeat the highest commercial threat level using a non-armor piercing round.  This equates to a Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) Soft Lead Core (SC) Rifle round having a caliber of 7.62 x 51 mm (U.S. Military designation M80).  The round has a nominal mass of 9.7 grams and is traveling at a nominal speed of 838 meters/second or 2,750 feet/second.  This particular threat level is covered under the NIJ Standard 0108.01 Level III and the CEN Standard EN 1063 Level BR6 for armor. 

The Isoclima S.p.A. independent testing of their armored glass products was verified and used as a baseline for the protection afforded by their products.

Vehicle Chassis - PSV test vehicles were sent to the GM Desert Proving Ground in Mesa Arizona for complete testing and development tuning.   At the GM proving ground, the assessment and tuning of ride, steering, handling and braking characteristics were carried out primarily using subjective methods with frequent objective verification of the limit handling performance. The handling performance was measured during three maneuvers: constant radius test (200 ft radius), slalom course with 80ft cone spacing and a double lane change maneuver. The lane change is negotiated in a closed throttle condition, the throttle being released as the entry cone is passed. 

The vehicle was fitted with a comprehensive instrumentation package allowing the measurement of various parameters including:

·          Steering wheel torque and angle

·          Lateral acceleration

·          Longitudinal acceleration

·          Body slip angle

·          Yaw rate

·          Body roll angle

In addition to measuring the PSV development prototype, a production Cadillac Escalade, which is of similar size and engine performance, was also instrumented and measured through the same maneuvers with both the OE 18” wheel/tire package and the PSV 275/55/20 tires.  Braking performance was evaluated subjectively for pedal feel, and the deceleration and stopping distances were measured. Resistance to brake fade was tested using ten consecutive 60mph-0 tests. This fade test is known as the ‘AMS test’ due to it being used by the German auto magazine ‘Auto Motor und Sport’ as part of their road testing protocol. It has subsequently become an accepted industry standard test method. ABS system compatibility was confirmed by testing on high, medium and low friction coefficients (‘mu’) surfaces.

Handling - The target for the ‘everyday’ levels of handling performance was to mask the additional mass and increase in CofG height during the normal road driving lateral acceleration envelope (typically below 0.5 g). Objectively these characteristics are somewhat reflected at the fundamental level by the linear range understeer and suspension roll gradients.  Subjectively, the PSV prototype performance was perceived by passengers as being ‘more sporty’ than the baseline Escalade (which has similar suspension specifications to the PSV prototype vehicle). This was largely due to the reduced roll rate of the PSV achieved via the revised spring and stabilizer bar package and increased levels of damping from the retuned shock absorbers.  The additional cornering stiffness of the chosen tire compared to that of the OE tire also helped the rear axle cornering confidence.  Overall the resulting low to mid ‘g’ handling proved to be very

confidence inspiring.  In terms of the limit handling, the PSV was tuned to display progressive understeer during steady state cornering and to provide acceptable transient stability during the slalom and lane change.

All test results are available for review at Torino Headquarters.

PI Motorsports, Inc.
1040 North Batavia, Suite G
Orange, California 92867
Telephone: 714-744-1398

PI Motorsports, Inc.
1040 North Batavia, Suite G
Orange, California 92867
Telephone: 714-744-1398