Knight XV a 'Hummer on steroids'

It's a Canadian-made armoured vehicle that looks like a Hummer on steroids.

And with a right-hand-drive version available, it could be coming to Australia, according to company spokesman Seth Feller.

"Right now we are speaking with several Aussies who have expressed interest in acquiring the Knight XV and anticipate having a few within the next 12 months Down Under," he said.

"We are working on pricing the Knight XV with right-hand drive and estimate that the cost would around $400,000 (US)."

At 6m long and 2.5m high, the Knight XV is substantially bigger than a Hummer H2.

It is based on Ford's F35 pick-up truck, but bigger. Much bigger. Like 5.5 tonnes.

Most of that weight is in the steel armour plating and 6cm-thick armoured glass. The doors alone are so heavy they have been fixed with reinforced hinges.

Feller said their market was people who needed luxury as well as security.

"Our target market consists of high net worth individuals, professional athletes, music artists, heads of state, automotive collectors who are looking for a bespoke vehicle which delivers both top-notch security and luxury," he said.

"Also, due to the sheer size of the Knight XV, anyone who likes making a grand entrance would certainly enjoy the Knight XV experience."

The Knight XV comes standard with night-vision cameras front and rear, a roof-mounted camera and tyres that will survive most gunfire, but still operate if shot out.

Security options include more surveillance cameras, an external listening device, under-vehicle magnetic attachment detector to locate explosives, a GPS transmitter, bolt lock door system, roof-mounted searchlight, oxygen survival kit and a smoke security system.

There is also a fire extinguisher and Black Box on board.

The Knight XV is powered by a 6.8-litre V10 Ford engine with 298kW of power and a massive 677Nm of torque. If that's not enough power, a turbocharger is available as an option.

For the greenies, it will also run on 85 per cent ethanol mixture and a diesel engine is available as an option.

The company calls it their "first ultra-luxurious, fully armoured, environmentally-respectful handcrafted SUV".

However, the fitting of a 151-litre fuel tank and the option of an auxiliary tank indicates it doesn't have great economy.

No fuel consumption or CO2 emission figures are available.

The Knight XV sits on 20-inch wheels with massive 40-inch desert tyres and has 4WD with a five-speed auto transmission.

But just because it's big, ugly and armour-plated doesn't mean it doesn't have luxury appointments.

Inside there are six leather seats with a conference table, wool carpets, DVD entertainment system, suede trim and laptop stations in the rear.

If that's not luxurious enough, options include sleeper seating, a driver partition, heated seats, large flat-screen satellite TV, curtains in the rear, a refreshments bar, cooler box, cigar humidor and a safe.

Each vehicle takes about 1500 hours to build by hand and only 100 of the machines will be made available as a limited first run with a starting price of $450,000.