Mercedes has refreshed its armored flagship sedan, the S 680 Guard, with the highest civilian ballistic protection rating available — VR10 — plus a twin-turbocharged V12 paired with all-wheel drive for the first time. There's a catch for anyone stateside: Mercedes explicitly refuses to sell the Guard in the US market, and every buyer worldwide must pass a background and embargo check before a sale is approved.
What VR10 actually means
VR10 is the top tier of the VPAM certification scale (a European standard for testing ballistic protection materials and vehicles). Germany's Beschussamt Ulm testing authority verified that the S 680 Guard meets that standard for both opaque body panels and transparent elements — meaning the glass. Mercedes says it is currently the only production sedan to ship from the factory with full VR10 certification on both.
The armor is built into the car from the start rather than added by an outside shop. Mercedes calls this the Integrated Protection System (iSS), where ballistic protection is woven into the body structure during manufacturing. Outer panels are aluminum; the passenger compartment sits inside a dedicated protective capsule. The finished car tips the scales at roughly 9,900 lb (4.5 tonnes).
Mercedes S 680 Guard 4Matic
V12, AWD, and survival hardware
Power comes from a 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12 producing 612 hp (456 kW) and 612 lb-ft (830 Nm) of torque. This is the first Guard model to combine that engine with 4Matic all-wheel drive — a meaningful upgrade for traction in adverse conditions. Top speed is electronically limited to 118 mph, which is respectable given the mass involved. Engineers had to specially retune the suspension, brakes, and chassis components to handle the weight.
Beyond the armor, the car carries a fire-suppression system covering the engine bay and undercarriage, servo-assisted doors (heavy enough that one-handed operation would otherwise be unrealistic), and an emergency fresh-air system with 900 liters of compressed air that can pressurize the cabin to isolate occupants from outside gases.
The US is off the list
Pricing is never disclosed publicly — the previous generation started around £387,600 (roughly $490,000 at current rates, including UK VAT) with fully equipped examples exceeding £500,000. Mercedes negotiates individually with each buyer.
More relevantly, the company has confirmed — per Motor1 — that the US market is blacklisted entirely. China is also excluded. Every approved market still requires purchasers to clear sanctions and background checks before an order is accepted. The car is aimed squarely at heads of state, diplomatic missions, and government fleets where that vetting process is standard procedure.
Inside, the Guard largely mirrors the standard long-wheelbase S-Class: customizable trim, seating configurations, and a rear MBUX High-End entertainment system with video-conferencing capability. Fuel economy, per The National, runs about 14 mpg on the WLTP cycle (EU range-test standard) — a predictable consequence of moving nearly 5 tons of armored sedan down the road with a V12.
