WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE AN ARMORED CAR

Armored cars have come a long way since Colonel T.E. Lawrence’s fleet of Rolls-Royce Ghosts prowled the Arabian Peninsula during World War I. These ironclad beasts have gone from machines of war to defense vehicles for everyone from politicians and the well-heeled to mafiosi and oligarchs. And business is booming. With armored car sales up over the past few years, automakers including Audi, BMW, Land Rover, and Mercedes-Benz have joined with small, specialized manufacturers to offer a wide variety of bulletproof and even mine-resistant cars, trucks, and SUVs.

So what does it take to build a world-class armored car? We caught up with the folks at Alpine Armoring to find out.

Headquartered in Chantilly, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C., Alpine started building