A machine gun or anti-aircraft gun in the bed of a regular pickup truck is a familiar image in this day and age in various parts of the world (unfortunately), but adding heavy weaponry to a luxury convertible isn’t something you encounter everyday.
Ukrainian Weapons Tracker on Twitter posted a video of a BMW 6-Series Convertible, complete with a trunk-mounted machine gun similar to the ones used on Russian T-72 Tanks.
According to various reports, including from the Independent, the modified E64-generation BMW 6-Series Convertible was donated to the police in the city of Mykolaiv, where half of the 500,000 residents have fled in less than a week due to Russian bombardment.
#Ukraine: A open top BMW 6 series with a NSV 12,7×108 heavy machine gun mounted – is not something you see everyday. pic.twitter.com/wWGrg5ddEU
— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) March 14, 2022
Freude am Firepower
The creation looks like something out of a video game, but in reality, it’s an extremely deadly implement of resistance technology. The heavy machine gun riding along is a Soviet-era NSV chambered in 12.7×108, a design that has been in service since 1971 and has been in numerous conflicts around the world.
While the gun is built for combat, the 6-Series isn’t. A convertible in a warzone isn’t exactly the best protection against gunfire, unless they’ve fitted a kevlar soft top. The added weight of ammunition and armored soldiers could affect handling as well, but 12.4 cubic feet of luggage capacity is coming in handy here.
We aren’t sure what engine is powering the Bimmer as the trunk (and thus the badge) has been removed, but we can hope that it’s the top-of-the-line 4.4-liter V8 with 325 horsepower and 330 foot-pounds of torque. At the very least, the soldiers can outrun a tank with a 0-60 time of under 5.0 seconds and a top speed of 151 mph (243 km/h)
Mykolaiv has seen heavy fighting as it is near the coveted port city of Odesa. An airstrike recently killed nine people as Russian forces attempt to get to the capital city of Kyiv on foot.
If nothing else, the creation is a big middle finger to invaders, as is the script on the rear bumper that translates to: “Russian warship… f*** you”.