The world’s safest car to ride in

What else could be safer than a car specially designed for the new president of the USA to ride in on his inauguration day?

Enter the Beast, a souped-up in the extreme Cadillac.

It’s reputedly be even better than the one they made for President Bush.

Some said it can withstand a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack – others joked that even an asteroid would fail to destroy it.

Specifications:

Official Name: Cadillac One

Length: 18′

Height: 5′ 10″

Engine: 6.5 litre diesel

Doors: military-grade armour-plated, 8 inches thick, each of same weight as a cabin door on a Boeing 757 plane. 8 inches! Is that enough? Well, Gregg Merksamer said:

While I do not know what type of weapons such thick windows are designed to guard against, a half-inch of transparent armor is enough to stop a .44 Magnum round at point-blank range; at a thickness of 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches, the same material can withstand higher-velocity bullets fired from military assault rifles.

I think 8 inches can probably withstand a car bomb attack.

Leaked photos of the inside of one of the doors:

Body: metal is combination dual-hardness steel, aluminium, titanium and ceramic. This is to break up any projectiles thrown / shot / hurled at it.

Basically, everything’s bulletproof, including the glass.

Defence systems: pump-action shotguns, night-vision cameras, tear-gas cannons, advanced fire-fighting system, completely sealed interior with its own, independent oxygen supply to thwart chemical attacks.

Petrol tank: armour-plated and filled with special foam to prevent from exploding if the armour somehow penetrated.

Tyres: virtually indestructible: Kevlar-reinforced, puncture-proof, shred-proof. Even if tyre gone, there are “special steel rims” that enables car to still continue to be driven.

Medical: the President’s blood just in case there’s a need for emergency medical treatment while he’s onboard.

In addition, it should at least have, or have an improved version of the Cadillac that Bush had, which had amongst others the following specs:

- All-wheel drive
- Red and blue emergency lights built into the front grille
- Red strobe lights in the headlights and rear brake lights.
- Windows cannot be wound down
- 5 antennas are on the boot cover
- Can seat 7 people, including the president. The front seats two.
- Glass partition divides the front & back portion
- 3 rear facing seats in the back, with cushions that are able to fold over the partition
- 2 rear seats reserved for the president and another passenger; these seats have the ability to recline individually.

With all that, no prizes to guesses of its disadvantages:
(i) costs a bomb
(ii) as slow as a snail: top speed 60mph
(iii) gas guzzler: 8 mpg
(iv) pickup: 0-60mph: 15 seconds

More details, or full spec of security features are understandably classifed and hence the information described here cannot be actually verified for authenticity.

… It probably also has the world’s most favourable car insurance rates …

Source
What Car
wikipedia
CNET

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