Last week, The Department of Homeland Security put out a contract posting on its official website seeking bids for designs of the next presidential limousine. If you did not already know, Mr. Obama already travels in a pretty insane rig called “The Beast”.
The Beast is a on a truck platform but is disguised as a stretched Cadillac DTS. This presidential limousine already has bulletproof windows, special run-flat tires, and surely an immense outer layer of body armor. How will the new limousine differ?
The contract is very specific and states, “This solicitation is restricted to Major Domestic U.S Automobile Manufacturers, who have their primary headquarters located in the United States of America.” Otherwise, options like the Mercedes Unimog, Quant E-SportLimousine, and the Knight XV would all be battling over the contract.
If I had my money on any automaker to win the bid it would be Cadillac. Caddy creates American luxury and styling that just looks Presidential. Plus Cadillac has history providing presidential protection, but its current model dates back to 2004.
The Secret Service stated that the project will involve four different phases. Phase one will be armor development. Phase two is testing of that armor, and automotive integration of the chassis, vehicle design, and component testing. Phase three looks like it will be focused on how the vehicle drives. And phase four is production.
The contract award is supposed to be completed by August 29th, so look for the announcement of new Beast at the end of this summer.
What would you pick for the new Presidential Limousine? Tell us in the comments.
