Actor Salman Khan gets a bulletproof Nissan Patrol SUV amidst death threats

Actor Salman Khan has brought home a bulletproof Nissan Patrol luxury SUV, as per the latest reports. The Hindi film actor was spotted in his newest ride at the grand opening of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai earlier this month, where he arrived in the bulletproof Patrol SUV accompanied by his personal security and a Police escort. Khan upgraded to bulletproof cars last year after receiving death threats.

The new Nissan Patrol replaces the bulletproof Toyota Land Cruiser LC200 that was previously used by the actor. Considering Nissan does not officially retail the Patrol in India, this seems to be a private import. The Nissan Patrol is quite popular in the Middle East and South East Asia and is especially known as one of the best choices when it comes to bulletproofing.

While details are scarce, the armoured Nissan Patrol is expected to come with B6 or B7 levels of protection, which most private security companies provide when retrofitting bulletproof glass on the Patrol. With B6-level, occupants are safe against a high-powered rifle with a 41 mm thick glass for ballistic protection. The B7-level offers protection against armour-piercing rounds with a 78 mm glass in place.

The Nissan Patrol draws power from the 5.6-litre V8 petrol engine tuned for 400 bhp and 560 Nm of peak torque

While the interiors are simple yet luxurious on the Nissan Patrol, power comes from the mammoth-sized 5.6-litre V8 petrol engine tuned for 400 bhp and 560 Nm of peak torque, paired with a 7-speed automatic transmission. Power goes to all four wheels via the Four-Wheel Drive system with a rear-locking differential. The Patrol is an extremely capable off-roader and competes with the Toyota Land Cruiser LC300 and the Land Rover Defender in the segment. In its sixth generation currently, the Nissan Patrol was last refreshed in 2019. Khan would have had to shell out quite a premium for the bulletproof Nissan Patrol. A non-bulletproof privately imported example alone would set you back by about ₹2 crore.

Salman Khan was previously using the previous generation Land Rover Range Rover LWB as his daily driver but switched to the bulletproof Land Cruiser LC200 last year. The actor received death threats from gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his aids in connection with the Blackbuck poaching case during the shoot of his 1998 film ‘Hum Saath Saath Hai’. Bishnoi reportedly belongs to the community that considers blackbucks as sacred, which is said to have trigged the gangster.

Apart from Salman Khan, his friend and contemporary Aamir Khan also owns the Mercedes-Benz S600 S-Guard, which is an armoured example. Aamir has the W221 generation of the S-Guard and reportedly had to shell out about ₹8-10 crore about a decade ago for the same. Meanwhile, actor Shah Rukh Khan recently acquired two new cars in the past year. The actor got the Rolls-Royce Cullinan Black Badge following the success of his new blockbuster Pathaan, while he also took delivery of the Mercedes-Maybach S580 a few months ago.