God's Son Got A New Caddy - Meet "The First Car"

The photos by Chris Doane, a spy photographer who hunts big automotive game — future models that haven’t been publicly revealed — for magazines and Web sites, provide clues about how specialized presidential transportation has become since the first White House fleet was ordered for William Howard Taft in 1909. President Taft rode in a stock White steam car or a conventional Pierce-Arrow, but the next president will travel in a fortress-like vehicle that was mostly built from scratch.

Obama's limousine rides on the same 19.5-inch Goodyear Regional RHS tires as trucks, indicating that it is far heavier than a civilian Cadillac — even the longest stretch limousines built with the G.M. division’s heavy-duty coachbuilder package. Indeed, it is believed that the limo is based on G.M.’s 2500 line of trucks, which includes an extra-heavy-duty version of the Suburban.

Although the raised roof and wide windshield pillars are inherited from the ultra-armored limousines that entered presidential service in 2001, only educated guesses can be made about the technical details. Because neither the Secret Service nor General Motors will discuss the car, or even confirm that a new one has been under development, it is impossible to provide basic specifications or dimensions. Calls to Cadillac’s media relations department were not returned, and the Secret Service declined to comment.

The windows are at least 5 inches thick, nearly twice the depth of what was used on presidential limousines in the 1980s and ’90s.

A half-inch of transparent armor is enough to stop a .44 Magnum round at point-blank range; at a thickness of 1.25 to 1.5 inches, the same material can withstand higher-velocity bullets fired from military assault rifles.

Were an attack to occur, the ballistic forces of bullets fired into the windows would be absorbed within a succession of glass and plastic layers, after which a flexible inner coating known as an antispall shield would keep glass from entering the passenger compartment.

Large steel overlaps have been added to the body openings to deter attackers who might try shooting through the door gaps.