economie

Vintage photos show how presidential limousines have changed, from open convertibles to Biden’s $1.5 million armored Cadillac known as ‘The Beast’

October 24, 20240
President Ronald Reagan took refuge in his presidential limousine after being shot.

Ron Edmonds/AP

The 13,000-pound car cost $500,000, or around $3.7 million in today’s dollars.

The bullet ricocheted off the right side of the rear door before hitting Reagan. The car’s body damage was repaired and it remained in use until 1992.

The 214-horsepower car featured a sunroof panel, a communication system, and fluorescent lighting to help the president be seen inside the vehicle.

In 1983, the Reagan administration switched from Lincoln cars to Cadillacs.
President George Bush rides in a new presidential limousine on Inauguration Day in 1989.

JEROME DELAY/AFP via Getty Images

The Los Angeles Times reported that the 22-foot vehicle, a modified Lincoln Town Car, cost $600,000 and took three years to build.

At the 2005 inauguration, President George W. Bush rode in a 2006 Cadillac DeVille Touring Sedan, or DTS.
The 2009 DTS Cadillac that served as President Barack Obama’s presidential limousine.

US Secret Service/MCT/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

The new model sported 19.5-inch tires and larger windows than previous presidential limousines.

The interior featured plush leather seats decorated with the presidential seal, a fold-out desk, and room for five passengers.
The US presidential state car, nicknamed “The Beast,” at Windsor Castle in June 2021.

Pool/Max Mumby/Getty Images

Despite the Cadillac exterior, the frame of the car is the same as the Chevrolet Kodiak truck produced by General Motors. The vehicle can seat up to seven people and cost around $1.5 million to build.

The US Secret Service has called The Beast “the most technologically advanced protection vehicle in the world.”
Members of the Secret Service open the doors to the presidential limousine in February 2024.

SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

The Beast includes a night-vision system, a secure communications system, tear-gas firing capabilities, door handles that can deliver electric shocks, and refrigerators with the president’s blood type. With 3-inch thick windows and 8-inch thick armor, it’s also bulletproof and sealed against biochemical attacks.