No, unfortunately it’s not the Bat Mobile being placed in the service of American police task forces; instead, it is a new technique in building police interceptor sedans and SUVs that Ford applies in car doors that can stop armor-piercing bullets. That way, Ford will become the first in the United States to reach the very highest of body armor standards, as they were set by the Justice Department. That being said, the doors that Ford has designed can stop even a .30 caliber bullet shot from an AK-47 or other high-powered rifles of the likes.

Ballistic panels are something that Ford has been offering the police since early 2008 but were not approved until now. The reason behind this is the simple fact that Ford’s previous models of bulletproof doors would only protect against handgun fire and non-armor piercing bullets. The original request for better-protected vehicles came from police teams in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. That led Randy Freiburger, a Ford engineer, to start working on designing a better-protected car that included top notch bullet protection.

And it turns out that the United States is far from the danger of armor-piercing ammunition minus the very few and occasional occurrences; studies state that in some states outside of the U.S., however, armor-piercing bullets are a threat that can be encountered on a daily basis.

The manner in which Ford managed to achieve top grade ballistic protection in their vehicle doors is via a build that implies two different layers of material. The first one – the outer layer – is ceramic tile that falls into the ballistic grade category. It’s not impenetrable, but its effect on the bullet is what counts: as soon as a bullet hits this surface, its energy is dispersed, and the material causes the bullet to break down into pieces.

Then the second layer comes into action. This one is made from aramid fiber, and it is the very same material that is normally used for Kevlar. The purpose of the second layer is to catch the shrapnel from the bullet from causing further damage. Engineers who have designed the panels mentioned that in the event that a bullet hits in the same place twice, the door would still be able to withstand the impact to some degree.

However, this new change comes at a cost. The ballistic door panels weigh a lot more and cost more too. The current price that a Ford-built armor-piercing bullet proof car door costs a minimum of $1,500.

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