Source: Richard Baker / Getty
One of the most important aspects of the presidency is keeping him safe.
Of course, there’s constantly a team of secret service in tow to make sure nothing happens to him or put themselves in harm’s way just in case. But when he’s not walking, he’s in what many consider to be the most secure vehicle in the world, which is dubbed The Beast. The Beast is a Cadillac limousine, and although fully custom, it looks like an elongated CT6 or XTS.
The first Beast was given to President Barack Obama back in 2009, but it’s since been updated and has been in use by Donald Trump since 2018. But now that a new president has been inaugurated in Joe Biden, the highly fortified vehicle will have a new occupant. Little is known about The Beast for safety reasons, of course, but it’s said to weigh nearly 15,000 pounds and has its own body double that rides along in the presidential motorcade to provide a decoy. It weighs so much because of all the added security features like being built entirely of titanium, 5-inch-thick glass, 8-inch-thick doors, and a bombproof plate covering the undercarriage. And did we mention the medical supplies onboard include a refrigerator full of the president’s own blood type?
With all the extra features, the car costs a pretty penny, as the most recent one delivered to Trump cost $1.5 million. The enormous machine doesn’t roll around the states either– it will travel with Joe Biden wherever he goes in its very own C-17 Globemaster cargo plane.
Cadillac has had the honor of building the stately vehicle since 1993, with little competition in other American car manufacturers like Lincoln and Chrysler.
“It’s always been part of our heritage and tradition, we have transported presidents over time, and we hope to be able to do so in the future, as well,” then Cadillac President Johann de Nysschen told Fox News.
With the car being just two years old, there’s no telling if a new one will be made, approved by the secret service, and debuted within his four-year presidency.
