SVI Engineering has outfitted the Toyota Prospecton vehicle assembly plant in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) with a fleet of armoured double-cab Hilux bakkies.
The manufacturer is one of the province’s key employers and produces the popular Hilux as well as the Corolla Cross, Corolla Quest, Fortuner, and Hiace at this location.
During the July 2021 riots, the Prospecton factory had to close down for more than a week and while the civil unrest did not incur any physical damage to the plant itself, the production halts negatively impacted both local and export deliveries.
With the latest reports of potential social unrest being on the horizon once more, Toyota has now employed the bullet-resistant bakkies kitted out with SVI’s Stopgun V2.0 kit to protect its local operations.
This particular grade of armour boasts full ballistic protection against assault rifles including the AK47, R1, and R5, said SVI.
In producing the Stopgun kit, the company upgrades the Hilux’s standard door hinges and suspension to cope with the additional mass of the B6 components and then installs in-door plating and flat armoured glass into each window frame for easy replacement should damage be sustained during an attack.
In addition, the roof, front fenders, all pillars, and part of the firewall gain B6 bullet-resistant protection, as do critical under-bonnet components such as the battery and ABS unit.
Gunports are also provided as standard but can be deleted upon request, said SVI.
The rise of SVI in South Africa
SVI has been on a hot streak in South Africa in recent years armouring various of the country’s most popular vehicles, and more.
Alongside offering armouring solutions for the Toyota Hilux in single, double, and xtra-cab variants, it also kits out the Land Cruiser 300 with the same protection.
Apart from these Toyotas, the Ford Ranger, Nissan Navara and Patrol, and VW Amarok are all available with multiple grades of armour, too.
The Hino 500 Series commercial truck was also recently added to SVI’s product roster, and a variety of bespoke products including heavily-modified Toyota Land Cruisers and a bullet-resistant train are further developed by the company.
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