Tony Abbott has a brand new ride.

A fleet of nine BMW 7 Series High Security cars worth around $550,000 each have been pressed into official Australian Government service for the Prime Minister.

• Top gear: rare vintage cars found in old shed

Designed to keep Mr Abbott and other high-ranking officials out of harm’s way, the V12-powered luxury limousines are now being used for official duties. They replace an ageing fleet of armoured Holden Caprice vehicles.

Last week, Mr Abbott was ferried to the Prime Minister’s XI cricket match in the bulletproof BMW limo, which can withstand semi-automatic rifle fire, notably AK-47 rounds and bomb blasts.

Based on the BMW 760Li, the 7 Series Protection models are indistinguishable from regular models from the outside, BMW claims. But with 60mm thick bulletproof glass, 10mm of extra steel-plating inside the doors, a self-sealing fuel tank, the car adds an extra 1500kg over the regular vehicle’s already lardy 2175kg kerb mass.

Each side window is so heavy, at 150kg each, that the motor required to power them up and down requires its own nuclear power plant … well, not quite, but you get the idea.

Each window weighs 150 kilograms.

The vehicles, built by BMW at its Dingolfing plant in Germany, are certified to a security rating of VR7 for the glass, and VR9 for the metal plating around its body. That is slightly inferior to the VR9 glass rating of the Mercedes-Benz S 600 Guard used to transport dignitaries at the recent G20 summit in Brisbane.

Even if the BMW’s V12 engine takes a hit, it’s designed to operate for another 80km without lubricants or coolants, and the Michelin tyres have a secondary ‘tyre within a tyre’ so the car won’t be slowed when the wheels are shot at.

The car’s dashboard features special emergency controls.

Upgraded brakes and suspension are necessary to cope with the extra weight and it’s not known whether the PM has specified the Bang & Olufsen premium stereo with his cars.

The car also boasts an attack alarm and an internal intercom system which allows those inside the car to communicate with those outside without leaving the safety of the vehicle.

As part of the $6.3 million contract with BMW to supply the cars, government drivers have been trained by BMW instructors in advanced driving techniques to avoid capture or harm.

Controversy surrounded the acquisition of the new BMW limousines by the Australian government in the lead-up to the renewal of the government fleet contract after it was reported that Holden decided not to bid for the armoured car project.

Barack Obama’s limousine is nicknamed ‘The Beast’. Photo: Getty

Other heads of state around the world drive home-grown armoured limousines. Barack Obama, President of the USA, is chauffeured around in a seven-tonne Cadillac limo that is rumoured to carry litres of the President’s blood type and is known in Secret Service circles as ‘The Beast’.

In the UK, PM David Cameron gets ferried around in an armoured Jaguar XJ. The supercharged 5.0-litre V8 limo is said to have a tear gas system designed to quell unpleasant crowds.

Vladimir Putin, Russian President, is looking at getting a new fleet of limousines by Porsche Design.

This article originally appeared on motoring.com.au.