The content of the article:
- Car rating of heads of state
- Lancia Thema of Italian President Sergio Mattarella
- Skoda Superb of Czech President Milos Zeman
- Citroen DS5 Francois Hollande
- Audi A8L Angela Merkel
- Rolls-Royce and Bentley Elizabeth II
- Maybach 62 Alexander Lukashenko
- Toyota Century of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
- FAW Hong Qi HQE President Xi Jinping
- Barack Obama's Cadillac One
- Mercedes S600 Pullman Guard Vladimir Putin
The cars of the heads of state are not just means of transportation. High requirements are imposed on such machines: they must be comfortable, emphasize their status, and ensure maximum safety. Moreover, such cars can serve as a political tool - many heads of state emphatically move only on cars made in their country.
Rating of cars of heads of different states
As a rule, the heads of state travel in cars that were made to order especially for them. Usually these are executive-class armored vehicles with a special set of security equipment.
It should be noted that some information about these machines is classified, so it is impossible to accurately determine their cost and a complete list of available options.
It is difficult to say which of the heads of state has the coolest car, all cars are good. Therefore, our rating will be very subjective, since it is difficult to arrange the presidential cars in descending order. But we will try to do this (we hope the heads of state will not be offended).
10.Lancia Thema of Italian President Sergio Mattarella
The Italian President popularizes the local auto industry and drives a five-meter Lancia Thema sedan. This car is equipped with a powerful 6.4-liter engine.
Italian presidents have favored Lancia cars for decades. Moreover, it should be noted that these machines are not very expensive. For example, the basic configuration will cost 40 thousand euros.
It should be noted that Prime Minister Matteo Renzi also drives Lancia cars. He has an extremely negative attitude towards the fact that officials move in premium cars, considering it a symbol of corruption. It should be noted that his predecessor Silvio Berlusconi loved expensive cars, so he drove an armored Audi A8 Quattro (engine capacity 4.2 liters, power - 310 "horses") and Maserati Quattroporte.
Matteo Renzi, trying to cut government spending, sold all the expensive cars of officials (Maseratti, Alfa Romeo, Jaguars, Audi, Subaru) at an auction.
9.Skoda Superb of Czech President Milos Zeman
The Škoda carmaker presented the third generation Superb car to the President of the Czech Republic. This car is equipped with a 3.6-liter engine with a capacity of 260 "horses". The car can move at a speed of 250 km / h, and up to a hundred can accelerate in 6.4 seconds.
The interior is lined with brown leather, the seats are equipped with ventilation and heating. The cost of the car is unknown. At the same time, the president travels to work without a motorcade and flashing lights. Nobody blocks the traffic for this.
8.Citroen DS5 Francois Hollande
It should be noted that for more than 60 years, all French presidents have traveled only in the cars of their country. Most often used are models of the Citroen brand. François Hollande uses a hybrid hatchback Citroen DS5, demonstrating not only trust in the domestic auto industry, but also care for nature.
Moreover, the car of the French president can probably be considered the most budgetary of all presidential cars in Europe. Hollande's car had only security features installed. There are no attributes of luxury in it. The design remains the same, only the opening top has been made. François Hollande has only two drivers, whom he ordered to drive according to all the rules, stopping at traffic lights and letting pedestrians pass.
The Citroen DS5 is a 200 hp diesel-electric hybrid. Such a car costs a little more than 40 thousand euros (serial version). This car can rightfully be called the "greenest" presidential car.
7. Audi A8L Angela Merkel
This car was chosen by the German Chancellor, as it complies with the official safety rules for the first persons of the state.
The Audi A8L has an armored body that can withstand a grenade explosion and an automatic fire, bullet-proof glass and special tires, which, even after being hit by bullets, allow the car to move quickly. In case of danger, the doors of the limousine can be shot off, and passengers will be able to leave the cabin.
The Audi saloon has a small office, a minibar and a refrigerator. If Merkel goes on a trip abroad, she asks the host country to provide her with the same armored vehicle.
6. Rolls-Royce and Bentley of Elizabeth II
The British Queen's fleet consists of five Rolls-Royces, but Elizabeth's favorite model is the Phantom VI, which has a retractable roof. This car was presented to the Queen back in 1978. Elizabeth II really liked the car, and she often appeared on it in public.
Recently, however, the Queen has been moving more often on the unique Bentley Arnage Red Label. This car was presented to her for the anniversary by the Volkswagen concern. It has an innovative air filter that protects the queen from harmful gases. This car has been assembled by hand for over two years. Bentley is equipped with a 7-liter engine with a capacity of 400 horses, allowing it to accelerate to 210 km / h.
But the new prime minister, Theresa May, used to drive an armored BMW of the seventh series (when she was the Minister of the Interior). Now she would have to forget about the German car. Most likely, she will change to the Jaguar XJ Sentinel, which was used by David Cameron. This armored vehicle is capable of withstanding the explosion of a bomb with a capacity of 15 kilograms of TNT.
5. Maybach 62 Alexander Lukashenko
Previously, the President of Belarus drove a Mercedes, but recently he appears more and more often on the Maybach 62. Such a car costs about 500,000 euros. According to the president, this car was presented to him by one Russian for his birthday. The car has many useful options, and the interior is very chic.
But it should be noted that Lukashenka does not drive this limousine very often in order to “not stand out”.
4. Toyota Century of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
In Japan, the real power belongs to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. For transportation, he uses a car made in his home country. Fortunately, the Japanese car industry offers different products, so the choice in this country is huge.
Shinzo Abe uses two company cars (Toyota Century and Lexus LS 600h L). Toyota has been developing vehicles for the country's top leadership for many years. The Toyota Century car was assembled by hand using a huge amount of secret technologies. The power of the 5-liter engine is 280 hp. (this is the maximum under Japanese law).
Shinzo Abe's second official car is a hybrid Lexus LS 600h L. The prime minister uses this car specifically to demonstrate the achievements of the domestic auto industry, as well as care for nature. The basic model of such a car costs 170 thousand dollars, but no one knows what functions the car has, so the real price is unknown.
But Emperor Akihito drives a luxurious Toyota Century Royal. This limousine was specially designed for the imperial family, who previously drove the Nissan Prince Royal.
Century Royal is equipped with a 5-liter engine. Its capacity is 350 "horses". As you can see, for the imperial family, Toyota "violated" the law limiting the power of cars produced. The Imperial Toyota has impressive dimensions, the curtains in the car are made of rice paper, there are special ceiling screens, as well as an electric granite step (a sign of respect for the monarch). The cost of the monarch's car is unknown, but the base model of such a car costs $ 460,000.
3. FAW Hong Qi HQE President Xi Jinping
The head of China supports his own auto industry, so he travels in a FAW Hong Qi HQE limousine. It should be noted that in Chinese, "Hong Qi" means "red banner". The car is naturally armored. Its length is 6.4 m, width is about 2 m, height is 1.72 m.The car weighs as much as 4.5 tons.
The car of the Chinese leader is equipped with a 12-cylinder 400 horsepower engine. No one knows for sure what parts this car is built from, all information about this is classified. For the first time on this car, the leader of the PRC was seen at the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the PRC (October 2009).
The vehicle was assembled by hand at the FAW facility located in Changhun. The Hong Qi brand was developed in the 1960s specifically to meet the needs of the government. The limousine design was inspired by Chinese motives. For example, the radiator grill looks like an old fan. The exact price of the car is unknown, but according to rumors, it costs 0.6-1.2 million dollars.
A total of 100 of these cars were built, and not a single copy was sold - all the cars were sent to high-ranking officials in China. However, in early 2012, the Chinese government banned local officials from driving vehicles that cost more than $ 28,500. Therefore, many had to forget about luxury cars.
2. Barack Obama's Cadillac One
Since 2009, the US President has only used The Beast Cadillac One. This luxury limousine is considered the most secure car in the world.
This machine weighs more than 8 tons, its length is 5.5 meters. The doors have 20 cm armor and the windows 12 cm. Even a shot from a grenade launcher won't hurt them. Only the driver's glass is lowered into the car (and then by 8 centimeters).
If there is a chemical attack, there are oxygen cylinders in the car. The salon is virtually isolated from the outside world, equipped with an innovative air filtration system. In addition, the car has rifles for guards, containers of tear gas and blood with a group of the president to make a transfusion. The gas tank is protected. Fuel consumption is 30 liters per 100 km.
The tires of the limousine are reinforced with Kevlar, so even after the shooting, the car will be able to deliver the American president to the right place.
The cabin has a laptop with the Internet, a telephone for communication with the Pentagon. The radio signal is encrypted (there are 5 antennas with different frequencies in the trunk).
1.Mercedes S600 Pullman Guard of Vladimir Putin
The President of the Russian Federation uses a car from the German automobile industry. The armored limousine Mercedes S-600 Guard Pullman has a length of 6.2 m and a weight of 3 tons. The three-liter engine delivers 400 horsepower. Pullman armor protects against machine guns and grenades. The machine is equipped with a sealing system in case of a gas attack. The salon of the limousine is like a mini-office, so the president can solve all government issues directly from the car. Information about the device and the principle of operation of security systems is kept secret. Such a limousine costs at least 900 thousand euros.
However, the President of the Russian Federation has long dreamed of switching to a domestic car. And such an opportunity may soon present itself.
Previously, the country's leaders traveled in armored ZIL-41052 limousines. For a long time, US intelligence could not understand the secret of the Soviet "limousines" (as limousines were called). After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Americans acquired and disassembled the ZIL-41052. It turned out that the Russians did not reinforce the frame with armor, but created a special armored capsule around which the car was already being built.
Now at the ZIL plant, an armored limousine ZIL 4112 is being built especially for Putin. Little is known about the technical "stuffing" of this car. But it is quite possible that the president will soon be driving in this domestic car.
Let's sum up
As a rule, the leaders of states travel in cars made in their countries. Moreover, such machines are necessarily equipped with modern safety equipment that can save the life of the first person. All other amenities are secondary.
