The leaders luxury limousine

Cadillac One, The Beast $300 000 5.3m 1.55m 8 tons 6.5 litre diesel 100km/h 29 litre/100km Defence accessories include night-vision cameras and pumpaction shotguns. Also armed with tear gas cannons. The car is sealed against biochemical attacks Three rear-facing seats are in the back, with a glass partition dividing the front from back. Panic button installed for Obama to summon help Obamas seat has a foldaway desktop, laptop computer with Wi-Fi, state-of-the-art satellite phone and direct line to the vice-president and the Pentagon The boot holds oxygen supply and a re-ghting system. Kept in the trunk is a blood bank of the presidents blood type. The trunk lid has ve antennas The petrol tank is armour-plated and lled with a specially designed foam that prevents it from exploding even if it suffers a direct hit Doors armour-plated, 20cm thick and the weight of a cabin door on a Boeing 757 jet

Manufacturer: General Motors Model: Cadillac DTS

Nicknames: Price: Length: Height: Weight: Engine: Max speed: Consumption:

Bodywork is a combination of dual hardness steel, aluminium, titanium and even ceramic to break up possible projectiles

Drivers window is tough enough to withstand armour-piercing bullets. Its the only window that opens by just 10cm so that the driver can pay a toll or talk with Secret Service agents The chassis has a reinforced 15cm steel plate for protection in the unlikely event of a bomb being placed underneath

A special night-vision system is in a secret location. It is able to see ahead at night without lights

The car is driven by a trained Secret Service agent who is capable of performing a J-turn a manoeuvre in which the limo turns 180 degrees in a matter of seconds

On domestic trips, the state car displays the American and presidential ags. When the president visits a foreign country, the presidential ag is replaced by the foreign countrys ag

Goodyear run-at tyres t into extra-large wheel wells. Kevlarreinforced, shred- and punctureresistant, with steel rims, enabling the car to escape even if the tyres are blasted away

Although the state car is a Cadillacbadged limousine, it is built on the chassis of a Chevrolet Kodiak commercial truck

Previous presidential vehicles

1939 Lincoln K-Series
Sources: Daily Mail, Wikipedia

1942 Lincoln Custom

1950 Lincoln Cosmopolitan

1965 Lincoln Continental

1983 Cadillac Fleetwood

1989 Lincoln Town Car

1993 Cadillac Brougham

2001 Cadillac DTS

JACO GROBBELAAR, Graphics24