Phenomenals Barack Obama's Limousine

Phenomenals Barack Obama's Limousine

Phenomenals Barack Obama's Limousine

Phenomenals Barack Obama's Limousine

It drives like a truck, is built like a tank and gets terrible fuel economy. It can even withstand a bomb blast, but struggles with driveways.

It hardly sounds like your dream car, but it's the world's most famous set of wheels.

President Barack Obama will not be riding in a Holden or Ford for this week's Australian visit. Instead he will be chauffeured in his custom-made, heavily armoured limousine, which is known in Secret Service circles as The Beast.

It is bullet-proof, bomb-proof, capable of withstanding chemical weapon attacks, and is guaranteed to stop traffic, because it travels as part of a motorcade that usually involves more than 20 police and security vehicles.

Little official information has been released about The Beast. On the surface it carries the badge of General Motors' luxury brand Cadillac, and was built for Obama in 2009.

All that is known for certain is that it includes a mobile office in the back and presidential seals on the back seats and door panels; that is all the information Cadillac has released.

Beneath the stately looks the limo earns its nickname. It is reportedly built on the chassis of a GM truck, powered by a fuel-guzzling 6.6-litre V8 diesel engine.www.stuff.co.nz