My kind of car

Might be of intrest

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[h3]Ultimate SUV not coming to store near you[/h3]

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2002108060179

ASSOCIATED PRESS

BUTLER — The sport utility vehicle that rolls out of the Ibis Tek shop looks no more intimidating than the ones driven by millions of soccer moms.

With the flip of a switch, however, a vehicle modified by this small Western Pennsylvania company is transformed into a virtual war wagon, exposing weaponry ranging from a .50-caliber M2 machine gun to an MK-19, 40-mm grenade launcher.

Armor plating that will stop a 7.62-mm armor-piercing bullet will cost you extra.

Its client list is a well-guarded secret, but Ibis Tek says it ships its one-of-a-kind SUVs around the globe and specializes in keeping others from finding out about the firepower stashed inside.

Ibis Tek President Tom Buckner opened the company three years ago with his brother, John, and Tom Letter, who markets the vehicles out of Geneva, Switzerland.

Buckner will say only that about a dozen of his vehicles are being used in four Middle Eastern countries. The Royal Guard of Saudi Arabia possesses three, he said.

An Ibis ride with all the trimmings will set you back about $500,000.

If the sticker price isn’t enough, the gas mileage could give pause to anyone wanting to take home an Ibis creation. The vehicles can weigh as much as 11,000 pounds.

“You don’t buy them for the gas mileage,” Buckner said.

Export of the Ibis Tek Viper, Cobra and Python defense systems, which are outfitted for factory-issue trucks such as the Chevy Suburban, Lincoln Navigator and larger Ford pickups, is strictly regulated by the U.S. Department of State.

Defense Trade Controls, a division of the State Department, is responsible for licensing companies such as Ibis.

“If the item is not deemed to be something that could prove destabilizing to the region, and there is no outstanding foreign policy reason, it would be eligible for approval from Defense Trade Controls,” said Jay Greer, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Political and Military Affairs. “We consider these things from a national security perspective.”

Buckner said weaponry is not affixed until delivery is made and all weapons are provided by the client. But he insists the vehicles are designed solely for protection.

“Everything we do is defensive in nature,” he said. “We make nothing offensive in nature.”

John Weaver, vice president of engineering, said no vehicles have been sold domestically. The vehicles are legal in the United States, however, and would not be regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, according to Jim Crandall, an ATF program manager in Washington, D.C.

“It may raise some eyebrows, but until it is fitted with armament, it is not something we are really concerned with,” he said.

Crandall said he is unaware of any other U.S. company selling a similar product.

What Ibis Tek does provide is a fully automated weapons platform with laser sighting that can be operated from the passenger seat using a joystick.

A standard configuration can hold a .50-caliber machine gun in several barrel lengths and a 40-mm grenade launcher, Buckner said.

“But we can configure our Cobra and Viper platforms to mount your existing weapons,” he added.

Weaponry is sited using an LCD screen inside the vehicle. Guns are fully stabilized, meaning bumps in the road won’t effect accuracy, Buckner said.

When activated, the weapons system rises through a sunroof measuring about 44 inches by 75 inches and is ready to fire in less than 10 seconds.

“You have to decide on a sensor package,” Buckner said. “These have day-night cameras and laser-range finders or thermal cam. If you use something like a .50-caliber weapon, you need a ballistic solution like the laser to designate a range.”

Another option includes protection against gas or biological attack, good for three to four hours, Buckner said.

The company founders had been brokers for weapons systems that could be attached in what Buckner calls “Rat Patrol” fashion — in a fixed position atop the vehicle.

“Our clients said again and again it would be great if the weapons stations were inside the vehicle, hidden underneath,” he said. “It made sense to us, especially in an urban setting or even rural.”

Governments from the Middle East and Europe showed strong interest in Ibis Tek vehicles during the Eurosatory military trade show in Paris this summer, Weaver said.

It takes about six months to have a vehicle road ready, Buckner said.

Ibis Tek offers as part of its sales package a seven, 14, or 30-day training course. The latter includes instruction in operational scenarios and tactical response.

Still, Buckner said, the “average deer hunter in Pennsylvania” could operate the system if he or she had a minimal amount of computer experience.

On the Net:

Ibis Tek: http://www.ibistek.com

U.S. Dept. of State Defense Trade Controls: http://pmdtc.org/compliance.htm

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rabie :9