President Trump is currently making do with the previous administration’s Cadillac limousine, or Cadillac One. However, number 45 will be treated to a brand new presidential limo later this year, and we have our best look at it in new spy photos.
Spied rolling around GM proving grounds, the Beast 2.0 will continue to ride on a General Motors medium-duty truck platform, but be skinned as a Cadillac. Specifically, the styling looks akin to a Cadillac CT6 and Escalade. In fact, it’s actually just as long as an Escalade. Expect it to look much more modern and elegant than the current Cadillac DTS inspired limo in use right now.
Unlike most cars we report on, we’ll likely never know all the features packed into Cadillac One for the sake of national security. But, we do know the current presidential features reinforced doors, extra thick and bullet proof windows, technology to prevent the effects of an EMP blast and an air filtration system in the event of a biological attack.
All of that comes at a price, though. The original report states the new limo cost taxpayers around $1.5 million to develop and engineer.
Spy shots: Autoblog
Comments
beast indeed!!! how many golf bags can that thing hold???
GM really screwed this up as I see it. Contractually, this car was supposed to be done by March 30, 2017 but by tradition, the new limousine debuts with a new president or a new presidential term.
In 2001, on W’s Inauguration Day, there was a new Deville based limo for the parade which was covered widely by national and international media. It replaced the Clinton-era Brougham-based design and was a considerable departure from the past.
Four years later, a refreshed car appeared for the start of his second term. It sported the then-new DTS front and rear fascia design that were not yet available on production cars. Bush’s car premiered the new styling.
Fast-forward to January of 2009, GM, even on the cusp of bankruptcy, managed to have a new limousine awaiting the new president. This time the car seemingly was based on no production car and was a total one-off looking very much like a Cadillac but no one particular model.
On that cold January day, President Bush and future President Obama rode from the White House to the Capitol in Bush’s DTS State Car. Following Obama’s inauguration, a new car was parked outside the capitol to ferry the new president back down Pennsylvania Avenue to his new home. Symbolically the torch had been passed to a new man, the old car had been retired, and a glittering new one was on full display for the widely-watched parade.
That symbolic change should have played out again on January 20, 2017 as President Trump took the reins. As he stepped down off the Capitol steps, waved the old president off as Marine One departed, a new car should’ve awaited. The new president would’ve stepped in along with a new First Lady and every camera in Washington would’ve been turned to this new car and as it made its way to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, every news person would’ve been remarking about the new custom-built Cadillac.
It would’ve been, as it has been in the past, a terrific PR moment for General Motors and for Cadillac. A moment that seers into the public consciousness the relationship between Cadillac and the pinnacle of power; the United States presidency. Sadly, GM couldn’t deliver. I don’t know why. There’s likely a good reason but it was very much a missed opportunity.
Now the car will likely debut on a Wednesday when no one is looking and there’s no fanfare and unlike on Inaguration Day when the nation celebrates a long tradition of peacefully transferring power, any launch now will have a decidedly more politically charged association.
On the bright side, the car looks like a huge improvement over the Obama car which looked overly fortified and possessed only slightly more grace than a Russian Zil. The new limousine has actual style again and a less Beast-like appearance. In that sense GM has done well to hide the mass and armor. It just would’ve been nice if its coming-out had been on the one day when a million cameras would’ve beamed its image, and the Cadillac crest, around the world.
The new Presidential limo will be great for both President Trump and GM.
President Trump continues to say ” buy American, made in America”.
GM gets ongoing Presidential news visibility of the Cadillac brand, supporting buy and made in America.
Why can’t the Presidential limo be a Toyota, BMW or Mercedes? These companies have American assembly operations, just like GM and Ford.
Only GM, Ford and Tesla are U.S. based auto manufacturers. With that, the key management, design and engineering positions are also based in the U.S. The foreign brands direct most of their profits and key jobs back to their home Country.
The Presidential lime sends a very important message.
I understand Hitler liked Mercedes.
THIS THING IS GONNA BE HUUUUUUGE! ( hand gestures and trump voice needed)
What are the odds this will be the first presidential limo with vanity plates?
Doesn’t look like a Federal prison van to me!
I have seen some updates on this limo and it is truly a beast. It is aptly named.
It apparently has two shotguns behind the grill and doors that don’t open from the outside, except for the drivers.
However, we actually think the design of the body is quite elegant, almost like a Rolls Royce. We’re discussing the “normal person version” of this limousine for our limo service business http://www.waukeshalimoservice.com/.
Reading the cost to taxpayers for this limousine makes me quite sad though. It looks like Trump’s budget will slash transit spending, meaning that many cities will have to delay much needed transportation projects. So it’s sad and ironic that Trump would be so willing to spend so much on his own transportation.
James,
Trump really has nothing to do with this car or its cost. The Secret Service sent out a RFP for the vehicle and dictated its specs long before anyone knew who the 45th President of the United States would be.
Trump might be able to dictate some minor alterations like color, wood, or leather but the fundamentals of the vehicle were established well before his January ascendancy to the Oval Office.