More from Motoring

You can’t a price on life, they say, but Mercedes has managed to put on one saving yours – provided you’re a head of state or some such dignitary. You can have yourself a Mercedes Maybach S600 Guard for the princely (stately?) sum of Rs 10.5 crore, ex-showroom, onwards. We’re kidding, really. Heads of state get the simple S600, it’s only kings, sheikhs and the like who will have access to the luxuries of that ‘Maybach’ moniker.

What do you get for that sum, you ask? It’s the world’s first civilian vehicle to be certified with VR10 levels of protection. That means if you want more, you’ll just have to buy a battle tank. (This reminds us of all the times we’ve reviewed a car and said that it was ‘built like a tank’…) It also has an ERV 2010 explosive rating. Which means it won’t blow up easy. Top speed is electronically limited to 190 kph, but you won’t have much trouble getting there despite the weight penalty thanks to that V12 engine that pumps out 540 bhp and 84.6 kgm to the rear wheels via a 7G-Tronic gearbox.

Oh, and that’s the beginning price. Mercedes won’t reveal how high it can go. After all, if you need to ask…