Obama loves the Beast

Then again, Obama's beast was built to protect the most powerful man in the world.  When Ground Force One lands in Australia for the presidential visit it will bring an unbeatable bunch of protective engineering.

It might look like a caricature of a Cadillac, the The Beast - a nickname give by the Secret Service - is actually a heavily-amoured truck with a Cadillac-ish body dropped on top.  The exact specifications are top secret, but it has everything from ceramic-titanium-carbon fibre armour plating and bulletproof glass up to 12 centimetres thick and a bomb-proof floor made from hardened steel and Kevlar.

The weight comes in around eight tonnes, thanks in part to 20cm thick doors that each weigh as much as the ones of a Boeing 747.  The latest Obama beast has more space inside and bigger windows to give a view of the Commander in Chief during state visits, but the driver's window is the only one that opens - and even then it cracks just enough to talk to the car's armed guards.

No-one talks about the fitout in the car, but it is believed to include an independent oxygen suppy, night-vision cameras, Kevlar tyres and a tear-gas cannon. It has state-of-the-art communications equipment to allow it to become a mobile military command centre.  Rumours say there is even a supply of the president's blood on board for major emergencies . . .

The Beast is the latest in a line of presidential limousines that goes back to the 1920s, with many - including the car that failed to protect John F. Kennedy in the 1960s - now housed at the Henry Ford museum in Detroit.

But the Obama car won't be joining them in retirement, as it will be destroyed to prevent any protection secrets leaking out.  It makes you wonder what they do with the specially-trained Secret Service drivers ...