LAS VEGAS — An armored vehicle invading the Green Zone has a far different connotation at a trade show here than it does in, say, Baghdad.

But there it was, the Knight XV armored S.U.V., parked in a lot outside the convention center. It was the most menacing-looking machine imaginable, among an array of environmentally responsible vehicles at this week’s Specialty Equipment Market Association show. It expands the definition of “sustainable mobility” to heretofore unimaginable dimensions.

“The Knight XV is an ultra-luxurious handcrafted, biofuel-powered, fully armored S.U.V.,” said a press release from its manufacturer, Conquest Vehicles, based in Toronto. The inspiration for its design, according to the release, is the Gurkha military vehicle.

The Knight XV is aimed at an exclusive international clientele of “high net-worth individuals,” the company said, including “entertainers, professional athletes, politicians and members of Middle Eastern royal families.” Saudi Arabia was specifically mentioned.

Conquest plans to build only 100 Knight XVs and has “already sold quite a few” of its $295,000 armored cars here at the show, said Seth Feller, a spokesman for Conquest.

Basically, the Knight XV is an 11,000-pound vehicle assembled around a Ford F-350 Super Duty chassis with a 400-horsepower V-10 engine.

Aside from that, performance statistics were hard to pry out of company officials. Read more…