You met the Marauder when Richard Hammond braved the dangerous streets of SA to come and test drive it in JHB. Great PR for Mzansi BTW.

Now the Marauder’s parents, the Paramount Group, have given birth to the next child in the family: the Marauder Patrol. And here it is.

Sick, isn’t it?

The Patrol is made by Africa’s largest privately held defense and aerospace company, and is essentially a Toyota Land Cruiser underneath. It becomes a whole new beast once they strap on one of their ballistic protection spec settings, in all, reaching a weight of nearly 3 tons.

The Marauder is an amazing machine, but it’s far, far from practical in day-to-day situations. That’s where the Patrol comes in. Based on COTS (commercial off the shelf) driveline components, the Patrol is aimed at military, police and special forces that require an agile and quick response vehicle for use in tough environments. Like for example if the South African mine workers decided they wanted more money.

They claim it has a deliberately non-aggressive appearance – making it perfect for police, peacekeepers or Special Forces operating in sensitive environments. I say they got Stevie Wonder to design the non-aggresve styling parts.

The Patrol has got the STANAG Level 1 ballistic protection, meaning it can stop shell fragments as well as 7.62mm and 5.56mm bullets. For those wanting extra protection, there is the choice to increase ballistic to STANAG Level 2, without impacting the performance of the vehicle.

The vehicle comes in either a five-door ‘SUV’ version which can carry nine people or a four-door ‘double cab pick-up’ model which can carry a maximum of five people.

In both cases, the vehicle is available with optional extras of run-flat tire inserts, communications systems, add-on armor, various weapons stations and automatic transmission.

Crew comfort and ergonomics were key design elements and the vehicle is fully air-conditioned with plenty of space for tools, medical supplies and communications equipment.

Here are the specs:
Weight – 2,950kgs
Top speed – 120km/h
Turning circle – 15m
Range – 500 or 800km
Engine – 128kw Turbo Diesel
Blast protection – Hand grenade