Among government service vehicles, there is none more legendary than the presidential limousine tasked with chauffeuring the president, known as The Beast.
Built by General Motors to protect the commander-in-chief from any sort of attack, The Beast is rarely ever shown to the public outside of normal transportation duties. Jay Leno managed to convince the Secret Service to bring the car to his garage, giving us an unprecedented look at the impressive engineering and sheer mass of this very special limo.
Though it might look like a Cadillac XTS with some incredibly weird proportions, The Beast is very much its own thing, designed from the ground up by GM engineers (who cannot be named as their identities must be protected). It’s as long as a small bus and about six feet tall, with gigantic run-flat bus tires and doors that look to be about one foot thick.
Now in its third generation, the presidential limo sports far more than just bulletproof glass to protect the president. Rumors suggest the The Beast has onboard oxygen tanks in case of a biological attack, and a secure communications system capable of dispatching launch codes for nuclear weapons. The two secret service agents on hand do well to avoid most of Leno’s questions in the interest of national security.
Of course, The Beast isn’t invincible. Steve Abel, the car’s head mechanic, shares a story with Leno about a trip to North Carolina where the car was mistakenly filled up with a mixture of water and fuel, leading it to break down. Thankfully the Secret Service was able to ship another car from Washington DC in time for the president’s event.
At the end of the video, we’re given the chance to see the two Beasts loaded onto a Boeing C-17A Globemaster to be shipped to their next assignment. Incredibly cool stuff.