Inside $1,500,000 vehicle the US President drives around in dubbed ‘The Beast’
The bulletproof vehicle that the US president drives around in has been dubbed ‘The Beast’ and costs a whopping $1,500,000.
While the POTUS has a fleet of vehicles around him while traveling by car, there’s one particular motor that the president specifically uses.
Known as The Beast, the car is a heavily modified Cadillac that is not only bulletproof but blastproof too.
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And there’s not just one but two Beasts, both completely identical, so that no one knows which one they will be in at any given time.
This is a safety measure implemented by the US Secret Service.
So, what are some of the unique features that have been added to The Beast?
First off, the car weighs over 15,000 lbs and is considered to be a fortress on wheels, including tech that can fend off explosive attacks.
The vehicle, which is also known as Cadillac One, has 13 cm thick glass on the windows and tires with a solid core to make sure that they are still able to roll if punctured.
The panels of the car are made up of 20 cm thick military-grade armor.
The fuel tank is both bullet and blastproof to avoid any attack attempts and there is emergency equipment onboard.
This includes things like oxygen tanks and firefighting equipment.
Even more bizarrely, containers of the president’s blood type are kept in the car in case of an emergency.
It seems like absolutely nothing is left to chance when it comes to the safety of the president.
However, there is a catch - the president isn’t actually allowed to drive any of their own cars.
And it isn’t just while they’re serving in office - US presidents are never allowed to drive on public roads ever again after taking the job.
Instead, they will need to be chauffeured around by a driver, even long after they’ve left the White House.
This all comes down to a matter of safety but being a former president does come with some huge perks too.
The Former Presidents Act was brought into US law in 1958 and gives ex-presidents some lifetime benefits.
This includes a pension, medical insurance, expense funding for leaving office, private staff funding and Secret Service protection.
As part of that, they won’t be able to drive their own cars, but they will have personal drivers ready to take them wherever they want to go.