President Obama will be state guest
in India, on this Republic Day, 26th JANUARY 2015.
The much talked about “The Beast”, President
Obama's Cadillac is definitely a sight to behold.
“The Beast”
1. Like any other presidential state car, The Beast is an extraordinary
production car. Chevrolet Kodiak chassis, diesel engine and transmission, Escalade
headlamps and tail lights from discontinued STS make it look like Cadillac.
2. It owns an airplane.
The Beast travels in a C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft; it has the company
of a second limo, a heavily armored Chevrolet Suburban communications vehicle,
nicknamed Roadrunner. It is a rolling communications office directly linked to
a military satellite has a SATCOM dome on its roof
3. The Beast armor plating is 8 inches thick and the doors are as heavy
as those of a Boeing 757. Five-inch thick bulletproof windows contain at least
five layers. Its gigantic, bus-size Goodyear tires are Kevlar-reinforced
run-flat can keep The Beast on the road for quite some distance. The sealed interior
reduces the risk of a chemical attack; the fuel tanks are insulated by special
foam, in the event of an impact.
4. The Beast is packed with all
the necessary stuff such as, Firefighting equipment and oxygen
tanks to a cache of the president's blood type, tear gas canisters, grenade
launchers, and shotguns.
5. It has provision for seating
of seven passengers. The driver, the Secret Service protective agent for
the President sits in the front passenger seat and the president. Four
additional seats, three rearward facing and one seat next to the president for
a guest.
6. The Beast is actually
a family of Beast-like vehicles. Some look more like a Cadillac DTS. The other
limousines are used for high-ranking foreign officials and VIP guests when they're
in Washington, D.C. It is known that the Secret Service rotates between
presidential vehicles.
President at times travels in the heavily-armored Chevrolet Suburban or a
modified Prevost bus which is known as Ground Force One.
7. The Beast uses a Duramax diesel engine. The diesel engines are quite
durable, low volatility that reduces the risk of its exploding – it is
available everywhere in the world.
8. The Beast has highly trained
drivers who can execute tight J-turns and other police-style evasion techniques.
These drivers undergo extensive training.
9. The Beast takes about 15 seconds to hit 60 mph from a complete stop, the beast top speed is max at
60 mph. All that weight makes sipping fuel at a rate of 8 mpg.
10. This year on 26th
of January 2015 it will bring President Barak Obama to the Raj
Path where he will witness the Republic Day celebrations of the largest
democracy on this Planet.