World's Most Interesting Limousines

"The first automobile limousine, built in 1902, was designed so the driver sat outside under a covered compartment.[1] The word limousine is derived from the name of the French region Limousin, because this covered compartment physically resembled the cloak hood worn by the shepherds there. An alternate etymology has the chauffeur wearing a Limousin-style cloak in the open driver's compartment, for protection from the weather."

"The first "stretch limousine" was created in Fort Smith, Arkansas around 1928 by a coach company named Armbruster. These cars were primarily used to transport famous "big band" leaders, such as Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman, and their bands and equipment. These early stretch limousines were often called "big band buses"". -wikipedia.com

The 1961 Lincoln Continental 4-door convertible sedan that President John F. Kennedy was riding in on that tragic day in November of 1963 when he was assassinated is now sitting on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich. It is part of a powerful image burned into the memory of many Americans. Even if you are too young to have personal memories of that dreadful event, you probably have seen images of this car for those horrible scenes that have been replayed so many times.
In 1964 the car received major reconstruction including a new engine, titanium armoring, five-layer multiplate bullet-proof glass, addition od a permanent "greenhouse" top, new communication system, and , of course, complete retrimming of the rear compartment.

A 1949 ZIL ZIS-110 limousine belonged to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. The car, a sort of Russian Rolls-Royce, is based on the Packard Super Eight and powered by a 6 liter, 8 cylinder engine producing 140 hp with a top speed of over 87 mph. Stalin was supposedly given a Packard by FDR during the war and was so impressed that he ordered ZIL to copy it. Stalin used the vehicle, a landaulet painted Soviet green, as a parade car from 1950-1953, a fact borne out by documents from Russia's Ministry of Defense as well as archival photos. Restored to complete perfection, it has only 1276 km on it and features a stately leather interior.

The Sunshine Special was a 1939 Lincoln V12 convertible, and the official state car used by the 32nd President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Originally created in 1939, the car was the first presidential state car to be specifically built for presidential use, and was leased to the Office of the President by Ford Motor Company for $500 a year. It was a well-known personal favorite of the president. It was dubbed the "Sunshine Special" as a reference to its convertible roof. The roof, which was famously enjoyed by the president, was most commonly down during parades, and other times it was used as presidential transportation. This was in spite of a previous assassination attempt against Roosevelt as he was riding in a top-down Buick convertible, prior to the creation of the Sunshine Special.

The longest limousine built ever in the world is a limousine 100-ft long. This enormously long car is even in the Guinness Book of World Records now. This limousine rides on 26 tires spaced along the length of its body. It has 2 drivers' cabins in the front and in the back as it's really hard to drive such a vehicle. In order the limousine could turn and make turns around corners, its middle part is hinged to fold.Moreover, there is room for many passengers, a heated Jacuzzi, sun deck, swimming pool, a few beds and a helipad.

The limousine manufactured by a company called WeirdTruck that combines a pair of 1998 Chevy 3500-series truck. The rear end is identifiable by its red-lensed "headlights" and the exhaust tip peeking through its lower "front" fascia. The interior has set up in limousine-stylish in large U-shaped sports seats, booming sound system and projector video with 50-inch screen. Outside, a set of Dubs and 1st-gen Escalade conversion kits for both ends of the front complete the look. The builders say that it's a sure-fire attention-getter. No arguments here.

The six wheel, four door, six seater stretch MINI Cooper S features the John Cooper Works Tuning Kit and was built by a specialist coach builder in Los Angeles. Fully loaded with all of the toys you would expect to find in a limousine, the MINI XXL comes equipped with a retractable flat screen TV, a DVD player, CD and radio, air conditioning, sunroof, full black leather and a telephone in the rear so that passengers can communicate with the driver. However, the highlight of the MINI XXL is the whirlpool integrated into the rear section of the car. The whirlpool seats two people and is easy to operate. Its detachable roof means that it can be covered when not in use and emptying it is a simple matter of pulling the plug to release the water.

KAZ is an Italian-Japanese joint project to make an electric limousine. Keio Advanced Zero-Emissions vehicle, that's what KAZ stands for. It took 5 years to build and cost $4 million but the result is more than impressive: it has 6 electric engines powering the limousines six wheels, each producing 74 horse-power and 74 lb-ft. of torque. "A lithium-ion battery is widely used for mobile phones," said Shimizu, the Keio University professor. "We simply used large-sized lithium-ion batteries for KAZ." That means this baby goes from 0 to 62mph in just 7 seconds, reaches a quarter mile in 15 seconds and has a top speed of 193.3 km/h.

Made by ex military officer with child like passion for big and scary toys. Care for a romantic wedding? A lot of couples do. This limo was featured on MTV and across the media. Owner managed to license it for use on civilian roads, with a lot of limitations of course. On the inside you will see M16s and other military goodies.

Imagine owning a bus like this on the 60s! Even now it would be a blast to own a bus like this. Wonder what are the mods on engine. The original bus is not very powerful and with extra weight it definitely would lack power. Anyway those engines on old beetles have been modified to run quarter miles faster than most production cars so anything is possible. Add a roof rack and you are all set for the next surfing trip!

Keeping with things that fly, a Mexican limo company has converted an old Boeing 727-100 into a 50-seat luxury limousine. It's powered by a six-cylinder, turbocharged diesel engine in the back and has air brakes and suspension. The bird is about 54%u2032 long and 12%u2032 wide. Truck-style wheels and suspension replace the landing gear and on the inside, passengers are treated to neon strobes, a dance floor, a bar and a romantic space in the back (romance is near the engines, it seems).
For just $1,500, the coverted 737 can be yours for about 3 hours.

The world's highest limousine, from the ground to the roof, measures 3.33 m (10 ft 11 in). One more inch and it would have been 11 feet tall. To get a good feeling for how tall this is, the average person is about half that size. Built in 1998 by Gary and Shirley Duval (Australia) it has an eight wheel independent suspension system and sits on eight monster truck tyres. It has two separate engines and took a little over 4,000 hours to complete.
If you think that building such a vehicle would be an engineering masterpiece, then you are absolutely right. In fact, the creation this limousine service crew consisted of teams of people who put in over four thousand hours of work to complete the job.

President Obama's new ride isn't much larger than Bush's Cadillacs, but it's apparently much heavier. A look at photos released by GM reveal a limo-looking behemoth running on Goodyear Regional RHS tires-that's rubber usually reserved for medium- and heavy-duty trucks. Secrecy abounds about the latest POTUS ride, but rumors are that this one is the first to be diesel powered. The engine may be GM's familiar 6.6-liter Duramax turbodiesel V8, or it could be some even more powerful diesel build for large commercial trucks. While the chassis, suspension and drivetrain of the new limousine is all new, most of the body seems to derive directly from the previous DeVille and DTS limousines. However the styling has been revised using pieces from Cadillac's current line. For instance, the headlights, side view mirrors and door handles all come from the Escalade SUV. Meanwhile, the taillights, rear back up lights and third brake light all come from the STS sedan.