The next presidential limousine might look like this

A few days ago, the United States Secret Service posted the bid requirements for a new presidential limousine, which is set to debut during the 2017 inauguration of our nation's 45th chief executive. It's hard to believe that the General Motors-built Cadillac dubbed "The Beast" is already due for replacement, but the fleet of presidential limousines is cycled every four or eight years, with bids accepted from any American automaker.

We'll spoil the show for you: the odds of a company other than General Motors winning the bid is pretty slim. U.S. presidents have used Cadillacs for the last eight out of nine administrations, with the sole return to Lincolns (which traditionally provided cars to the White House before the Reagan administration) taking place during George Herbert Walker Bush's sole term in office.

While it would be fun to imagine the next presidential limousine being something offbeat, like a Tesla, for a number of reasons the design parameters of the limo are fairly set in stone, due to the needs and security specifications of the Secret Service. Given those constraints, we've tried to imagine what the 2017 limousine may look like.

But first, it's important to take a look back at the most recent history of the presidential limousine, the last 30 years or so, as the design of the presidential limousine has been evolutionary rather than revolutionary for a number of reasons.

Wikimedia Commons
The 2001 Cadillac presidential limousine is believed to use a Chevrolet Suburban platform.

While any large sedan from Ford or Chrysler can be stretched and armored, the design of presidential limousines has evolved far beyond what could be accomplished using a modified sedan. In fact, the last time a production sedan served as the basis for an armored presidential limousine was during the second Clinton administration with the use of what was mostly a Cadillac DeVille chassis, body panels, and engine.

With the inauguration of George W. Bush in 2001, General Motors created the first presidential Cadillac limousine that was really something else underneath trying to look like a Cadillac. That something else was most likely a Chevrolet Suburban wearing some Cadillac DTS body panels over a modernized ballistic cocoon. The 2001 limousines (and there were a number of largely identical copies built) were the first of what is the Secret Service's modern approach to the exterior and interior architecture of a presidential limousine. While previous vehicles like the Clinton-era Cadillac DeVilles offered 2+2+2 seating analogous to that of the Mercedes-Benz W140 Pullman Guard, its closest direct "competitor," the 2001 limousine that vaguely resembled a 2001 Cadillac DTS, was designed from the ground up, and was not really subject to any design limitations imposed by the base vehicle. Very few of the body panels of the 2001 Cadillac DTS actually came from the DTS, and even things that could have been parts-bin items such as the grille and headlights were custom made to fit the unique body.

In 2005, the presidential Cadillac limousine was treated to a slight update, receiving revised DTS-style front and rear fascias, but in terms of design just about everything else stayed the same. And by that we mean a short insert after the B-pillar, two rectangular doors hinged at the C-pillar, and a long rear section for the third row of front-facing seats between the D and E pillars. This has been the basic layout since 1983, and this floorplan has survived virtually unchanged until the General Motors-built presidential limousine dubbed "The Beast," which debuted with the 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama.

Adam Fagen
The 2009 beast used the Escalade front fascia, over a custom built body.

While the predecessor of The Beast is believed to have sat on a Chevrolet Suburban platform, the ever-expanding specifications of the Secret Service essentially required the latest limousine to use an even heavier-duty structure, believed to currently be the GM Kodiak medium-duty truck platform. The environment of a post-9/11 world had raised the threat level to the executive branch to the point where the new limousine was originally planned to be a heavily armored Cadillac Escalade. That would have been the easiest course of action as that platform can, with some help, support the several tons of armor and ballistic glass and hundreds of pounds of other equipment carried by the presidential limousine. But the final design ended up having a sedan-style body, even though the proportions of the vehicle greatly exceeded those of the Escalade by several feet in every direction. And the Beast ended up with an Escalade front fascia, all while being neither an Escalade nor a Cadillac underneath.

The design itself ended up being what was humorously called "the Cadillac Escalade sedan." The current Beasts (once again, there are believed to be around 12, even though no more than four are usually glimpsed at once) continued with the basic layout that debuted with the 2001 Cadillac DTS, retaining the basic insert/door proportions and gaining additional armor protection. The result was the heaviest and most secure vehicle ever constructed for a U.S. president, even though some experts have pointed out that its top speed is unlikely to exceed the posted limit in most jurisdictions just due to the dynamics of the chassis and the engine.

N. Persson/Autoweek
Due to its size, the 2017 presidential limousine is likely to use a 2015 Escalade front fascia, as shown in this rendering.

So what can we expect the presidential limousine that will debut in 2017 to look like? Barring sudden interest from Ford or what is now formally called Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, the next-generation presidential limousine is virtually assured to once again be a "Cadillac Escalade sedan." We can expect the basic architecture to once again follow a 2+2+2 layout, with conference-style seating for four or five people in the back, a tall body designed to obscure the president as he or she exits from one side of the vehicle, and approximately the same length as the current vehicle. Due to the level of armor, we can once again expect that the 2017 limousine will use a General Motors truck platform and a diesel engine, as necessitated by the weight and dynamic requirements of the vehicle.

In our rendering we've envisioned a longer inserted section between the B and the C pillars, which will add a little more harmony to the row of side windows, extending the length of the car from 18 to approximately 19 feet. For the past four iterations of the limousine, the second window has always been a bit short due to the length of the rear passenger doors and the length of the very last window section. The president's seat has been designed to be positioned parallel to the rear pillar, allowing the chief executive to look out the side window by slightly leaning forward, while not being too far away from the two rear-facing conference-style seats. Hence, the short inserted section between the B and the C pillars has always appeared a bit awkward in relation to the others.

N. Persson/Autoweek
The 2017 limousine is will likely use Cadillac parts bin items for the front as rear fascias, while the rest will again be custom built, as shown in this rendering.

While the same conference-style seating will remain, we won't dismiss the possibility that the amount of space between the president and the rear-facing passengers may grow to accommodate tables designed to fold out of the large rectangular passenger doors. In terms of interior ergonomics, folding tables for the benefit of all five rear compartment passengers are just about the only items that have not migrated from commercial mobile offices based on vehicles of this size and purpose (that would be Mercedes-Benz Sprinter-based armored mobile offices made by Friederichs GmbH and other coachbuilders/armorers). A longer inserted section after the B-pillar would also permit completely reclining rear seats for the benefit of the president, allowing him/her to stretch out and take a nap while not bothering the two or three rear-facing passengers. In terms of ergonomics, reclining seats have not made their way into the presidential limousine, and that is one feature that the 2017 version may add.

The next-generation presidential limousine will keep its defensive attributes, perhaps exceeding the current version in some areas. That means that the steel/aluminum/ceramic armor sandwich that is 8 inches at its thickest point, along with ballistic glass that is 5 inches thick. The weight is likely to remain around 15,000 pounds, a ballpark figure based on the current limousine. The vehicle will once again feature an array of communications systems, along with life-support systems which can keep the interior hermetically sealed, channeling in its own supply of oxygen. The limousine will also feature the standard armored car repertoire of an armored fuel tank, sirens and a PA system, strobes built into the headlight housings, and an automatic fire suppression system.

In short, the current limousine, which debuted in 2009, represented overkill to the point where the same design can stay current for at least a couple decades, and can be reskinned with new front and rear fascias purely for cosmetic reasons.

N. Persson/Autoweek
The 2017 presidential limousine is likely to maintain the proportions of the 2009 version, as shown in this rendering.

While we'd like to imagine that Ford or Chrysler can take on a project of this complexity -- and they certainly can -- there are a number of unpublished design parameters that would make it difficult for either to offer a next-generation presidential limousine. A Lincoln-based offering would inevitably either be a stretched Navigator SUV or something that would look like a "Lincoln Navigator sedan." The same goes for Chrysler, which will effectively have to manufacture a new body from scratch due to the unusability of just about everything it currently makes. We've spared you the rendered visage of a large SUV with a trunk and the fascia of a Chrysler 300 which right there sums up the chances of a sudden Chrysler entry into the bidding.

The design of the next presidential limousine is unlikely to evolve much from the current model, not counting the front and rear fascias, which we can expect to be Cadillac parts bin items to lend the completely custom vehicle a modern look. By the time 2017 rolls around, Cadillac is unlikely to have facelifted the 2015 Escalade, and that is what we can expect the front fascia of the limousine to look like.

The evolution of the presidential limousine effectively reached design lock years ago, so we are unlikely to see something entirely different for a while, as this design has worked so well.

By Jay Ramey