Obama's Top Secret Limo Revealed
The Caddy is heavily armored, high-tech, and pretty darn cool
Wednesday, Jan 14, 2009 | Updated 12:00 PM CST
U.S. Secret Service
Barack Obama will be riding in style on Inauguration Day.
President-elect Barack Obama's inspiration may be Abe Lincoln, but his sweet new limo is pure James Bond.
The Secret Service released pictures today of the new armored presidential limousine that Obama will use during the inauguration and as president.
"Although many of the vehicles' security enhancements cannot be discussed, it is safe to say that this car's security and coded communications systems make it the most technologically advanced protection vehicle in the world," said Nicholas Trotta, assistant director for the Office of Protective Operations.
The new Cadillac model of the presidential limousine was made by General Motors Corp and unlike other presidential limo models it does not have an official model name, The Detroit News reported last week . By some accounts, it's called "The Beast."
The vehicle includes heavy armor that is reportedly at least 5 inches thick, run-flat tires, bulletproof glass and a completely sealed interior to ward off a chemical attack, the paper reported. It also has electronic communications equipment.
Older-model presidential limos will remain in use. The previous model, a modified Cadillac DTS, was introduced at President George W. Bush's second inauguration in 2005.
Posted Thursday, Jul 16, 2009 - 6:54 PM CST
