The Atlas APC Is a Street-Legal Intimidator, Will It Scare Off the Rezvani Tank?

Well, now, it is now perfectly street-legal. Meet the Atlas APC Civilian Edition, the bulletproof vehicle that can take one for the team but which you can use for grocery shopping as well. So, is it going to be the APC or the Rezvani Tank?

The Atlas APC has been through the horror and terror of war all over the globe. Now, it goes straight into the madness of traffic to face the danger of public roads. GOAT Tactical Vehicles has come up with the civilian version of the Atlas monster, offering it for Private Civilian Ownership.

It is called the Atlas Armored Personnel Carrier, it is based on a Ford F-550, and it is inspired by the Oshkosh Defence JLTV (Joint Light Tactical Vehicle) that the US Army and Marine Corps currently use as a successor to the Humvee. Used to combat zones, combat it can do in traffic jams, too, while eating up fuel and driving 54 yards (50 meters) in five minutes at rush hour.

What powers the colossus is a 6.7-liter PowerStroke V8 turbodiesel engine that steers 330 horsepower (335 metric horsepower) and 750 pound-feet (1,017 Newton meters) of torque to all four wheels through a ten-speed automatic transmission. Those figures are below those of the F-550 pickup truck both in terms of output and torque. The BlueOval-badged truck boasts 475 horsepower (482 metric horsepower) and 1,050 pound-feet (1,424 Newton meters).

Meanwhile, the Rezvani Tank can get the V8 Demon Performance Package on top of the 6.2-liter V8 for a total of 1,000 horsepower. That is something that the APC can't match. However, the entry-level Tank gets only 270 horsepower and a six-speed manual.

The V8 engine has to pull a hell of a weight. The vehicle tips the scale at 17,196 pounds (7,800 kilograms) and has a payload of 3,306 pound-feet (1,500 kilograms). That is probably why the top speed is of only 90 mph (149 kph). This is definitely not your dragstrip ride! Imagine this Gulliver trying to fight the wind and eating up the tarmac ahead wearing the bulletproof suit.

The Atlas APC is huge in every single direction. It measures 249 inches (6,325 millimeters) in length, 100 inches (2,540 millimeters) in width, and 112 inches (2,845 millimeters) in height.

Try to park this giant in a standard parking space. That's right, you're going to need four of those to make sure you won't slam the doors into other parked vehicles. As if this SUV is not big enough, a pickup body style is also available.

A 39-gallon (147.6-liter) fuel tank feeds diesel fuel to the engine for a drive as far as 400 miles (644 kilometers).

An off-roader by nature, the four-wheel drive monster has 13.4 inches of ground clearance (340 millimeters) and a fording depth of 31.5 inches (800 millimeters), which is more than the king of off-roaders, the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, can do: 27.5 inches (700 millimeters), with a ground clearance of (9.4 inches) 241 millimeters.

The model features B6 ballistic steel as standard, but the protection level can go as far as B7, which is the highest that a civilian vehicle can get. The Atlas APC sports battle locks and three-inch ballistic window glass and is equipped with nine armored gun ports and a roof hatch. The manufacturer can replace the roof hatch with a turret by request. You are not going to need that on public roads, though. Hopefully.

The Atlas is built in the United States, unlike the other vehicles with military credentials, which roll off the production line in South Africa. The model rolls off the production line of the factory located in Boise, Idaho.

It is every inch street-legal and offered for civilian protection in 50 US states, which translates into purchase with no special permit. However, it still acts like a military vehicle. It has shielding from electromagnetic pulses, inverted doors, a siren, run flat tires, and a PA (public address) system. The list of optional equipment also includes a 3-inch ballistic window glass.

Engine and radiator protection and an additional HVAC system are also on the menu. A commanding presence on the road, the Atlas APC looks permanently ready for attack, even though it might just be on a grocery shopping kind of mission.

On board the vehicle, there are three seats up front and two more benches in a face-to-face configuration as standard, with space enough for a total of 12 occupants. But the layout can be customized by request and might probably turn out to be suitable for children car seats if necessary, just in case future owners want to go on a family road trip in this vehicle or just drive the kids to school.

Leather upholstery is part of the offer, while the dashboard of the Ford F-550 remained in place. Customers can also choose a 360-degree LED lighting system and custom paint.

The Atlas APC Civilian Edition starts at $395,000. Whoever wants one must know they will have to wait for their vehicle to be delivered between 60 and 90 days as the vehicles are only built-to-order. So, is it going to be the APC or the Rezvani Tank? That one starts at $275,000 if you want the bulletproof variant. Otherwise, it kicks off at half the price of the APC: $175,000.