PM Modi did not pick Mercedes-Maybach S650 Guard as new ride, SPG did: Sources
The new cars were not an upgrade, but rather a routine replacement as BMW stopped making the model which was being used previously, sources said.
FollowSeveral media reports have been doing the round with regard to the new Mercedes-Maybach S650 Guard cars that will enter Prime Minister Narendra Modi's convoy. However, many of the details mentioned about the cars, including their cost, may have been exaggerated. At the same time, it turns out that critics have been overstating their criticism with regard to the Prime Minister's new ride.
According to sources, the cars cost much less than being speculated in the media. In fact, they apparently cost one-third of the Rs 12 crore being touted in media reports.
Clarifying upon the need to introduce the Mercedes-Maybach S650 Guard, sources said that the Special Protection Group security detail has a six-year norm to replace vehicles used for the protectee. The earlier cars were used for eight years under Prime Minister Modi. In fact, an audit had raised objection over the issue and commented that it was compromising the life of the protectee.Â
Further, sources informed that the new cars were not an upgrade, but rather a routine replacement as BMW stopped making the model which was being used previously. Powered by a 6.0-litre V12 petrol engine, the Maybach S650 Guard comes with a heavily reinforced bodyshell that can withstand explosives and is said to offer one of the highest levels of protection available to civilian buyers.Â
According to sources, the decisions related to security detail purchases are based on the threat perception of the protectee and these decisions are taken independently by the Special Protection Group without taking the views of the protectee (in this case, the Prime Minister).
Requesting that widespread discussion about the security features of the protectee's car could be detrimental, sources said that putting out such information in the public domain not only threatens the life of the protectee but is also not in the national interest. Unlike Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has not given any preference on which cars to use, Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi -- in the past -- used Range Rovers which were actually procured for the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, sources revealed.
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