Knight: The school-run on steroids

You'll feel safe in this armoured SUV. Photo / Supplied

Talk about overkill. The hand-built Knight XV is a five-and-a-half ton, 6m-long, armoured SUV that is, says its Canadian maker, "environmentally respectful".

Although anything this big can't tread lightly, the Knight's 6.8-litre Ford-sourced V10 engine uses E85 biofuel to produce around 300kW of power and 680Nm of torque.

Sounds a lot until you realise that's 1Nm to shift 8kg. Although the Hummer H3 at your local dealership doesn't have the road presence, it delivers 1Nm to move 6.6kg. But it won't supply this behemoth's OTT specification.

The Knight features tinted armoured glass and armoured body panels manufactured from ballistic-grade aluminium, composite aramid and ceramics. The manufacturer says the doors are so heavy the hinges must be reinforced.

The Knight's protected passengers are cosseted by Wilton Wool carpet, and a leather and suede-trimmed cabin with personal side-mounted laptop trays.

The view out is comprehensive, courtesy of thermal imaging night-vision cameras front and rear, with another roof-mounted camera to assist reverse parking.

Comfort and convenience features include boardroom-style seating with personal side-mounted laptop stations, TV monitors and PlayStation 3 - handy if you're carrying the six professional basketball players this cabin could fit.

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The options list includes a flat-screen television, a refreshment bar and a cooler box, a siren and hidden strobe lights, exterior listening devices and an external smokescreen security system plus oxygen survival kit.

The manufacturer says this is not a vehicle that has been armoured but one that's built from scratch using military grade armour, with each car based on a Ford F550 platform and taking 1500 hours to complete.

No surprises then that it's not cheap - at US$359,000 ($556,670).

So far 20 of the 100-vehicle build run have sold.