Vladimir Putin's new poverty limo
- Thread starter Jean Ralphio
- Start date
A few years ago Russian president Dmitri Medvedev decided he wanted officials to be chauffeured in Russian limousines, not the German executive sedans everyone had become accustomed to (such as the Mercedes-Benz pictured above). Naturally, that meant turning to Russia's own ZiL to create a litter worthy of a plutocrat and glorious Russian history. The plan had two big problems, the first being that ZiL stopped making limos in 1991 and was only producing trucks and armored military vehicles.
But that didn't stop the party. The orders to ZiL were to create something powered by a V8 that was able to carry three people and reach 130 miles per hour. It must also represent "the best traditions of Soviet limousine building." Zil got to work, spending years and who knows how many rubles to create the armored sedan it unveiled last Fall: the ZiL-4112P, powered by a 7.7-liter V8 that reportedly has more than 400 horsepower. When comparing the 4112P to Obama's presidential conveyance, ZiL's director of limousine production said, "If you look at what Obama drives around in its a scary submarine, no kind of aesthetic, it's awful to look at."
No matter that, the car has one more big problem: President Putin is apparently unhappy with it. The president hasn't publicly disclosed his issues with the car, but the Moscow Times said that Putin "was not pleased" by the looks of the 4112P and noted that the car "needed adjustments." ZiL's response to the report was to say that the president wasn't actually given the 4112P – which, if true, would mean they gave him a presidential limo they haven't revealed to the public instead of the one they threw a giant party for and used to demonstrate the comparative ugliness of its American counterpart.
The mess has left an opening for GAZ and Marussia, with both companies working on alternatives to whatever is on offer from ZiL. GAZ is building something based on the Audi A8 that it says will be ready by 2014, Marussia's "completely original model" will arrive in 2015.
But that didn't stop the party. The orders to ZiL were to create something powered by a V8 that was able to carry three people and reach 130 miles per hour. It must also represent "the best traditions of Soviet limousine building." Zil got to work, spending years and who knows how many rubles to create the armored sedan it unveiled last Fall: the ZiL-4112P, powered by a 7.7-liter V8 that reportedly has more than 400 horsepower. When comparing the 4112P to Obama's presidential conveyance, ZiL's director of limousine production said, "If you look at what Obama drives around in its a scary submarine, no kind of aesthetic, it's awful to look at."
No matter that, the car has one more big problem: President Putin is apparently unhappy with it. The president hasn't publicly disclosed his issues with the car, but the Moscow Times said that Putin "was not pleased" by the looks of the 4112P and noted that the car "needed adjustments." ZiL's response to the report was to say that the president wasn't actually given the 4112P – which, if true, would mean they gave him a presidential limo they haven't revealed to the public instead of the one they threw a giant party for and used to demonstrate the comparative ugliness of its American counterpart.
The mess has left an opening for GAZ and Marussia, with both companies working on alternatives to whatever is on offer from ZiL. GAZ is building something based on the Audi A8 that it says will be ready by 2014, Marussia's "completely original model" will arrive in 2015.
Seriously? I mean I guess if you wanted to be kind you could say its not a terrible start for that company..but lets be honest, they are talking like it blows Obama's Cadillac out of the water when in reality, you cant even compare the two. It resembles some POS towncar from the 80s in quite a few aspects. I dont know if you saw any of the video, but the gear-shift is horrendous and the HUD/LED display is just hilarious. 
To be fair, I didnt see a whole lot wrong with the rear-seating area where Putin would be, but I didnt exactly look all that closely at it either.
To be fair, I didnt see a whole lot wrong with the rear-seating area where Putin would be, but I didnt exactly look all that closely at it either.
Seriously? I mean I guess if you wanted to be kind you could say its not a terrible start for that company..but lets be honest, they are talking like it blows Obama's Cadillac out of the water when in reality, you cant even compare the two. It resembles some POS towncar from the 80s in quite a few aspects. I dont know if you saw any of the video, but the gear-shift is horrendous and the HUD/LED display is just hilarious.
I never said it said it was better than Obama's vehicle. I merely stated the I like the way it looks. Yeah it's for sure not cutting edge or modern, but it's got classic lines and seems distinguished. If I was a president I sure as hell wouldn't want it, give me the thing that's ugly as shit, but has massive bullet proof glass and a storage bank of my own blood. kthnx
I don't know why their shit still looks so homebrew... The Russians can make some gorgeous stuff when they try. The company A-Level (Customizing company from Moscow) got permission from GAZ and did a "Re-take" on the classic Volga using an 850 CSi as a platform years ago. Gorgeous car. Doesn't even matter if they take another car's platform if they can't engineer something. Just make something different. This presidential car looks cool but it's clearly garbage build quality.
Car has copious amounts of DAT ASS going on.
Car has copious amounts of DAT ASS going on.
6.5L diesel?
as much as i like my 6.5... that engine in a armored limo 0-60 is what... 3 days?
I've heard that the Obama limo is actually a Chevy kodiak (which is a 6.6 duramax btw, GM hasn't used a 6.5 for a while) and all the body panels, while they look like a stock Cadillac are scaled up as to look normal. Even the Cadillac emblems are slightly larger than a stock vehicle to give the illusion that it is a stock Cadillac. If you've ever seen pictures of SS agents standing next to the beast you realize that it is huuuuuge
It is based on a Kodiak chassis but that doesnt necessarily mean it has a duramax. Chassis means frame and nothing else. Chances are they used the old 6.5L detroit (or maximizer as its known now being soley produced by AM General) for space savings.
A 6.5L turbo detroit takes up 2/3s as much room as a 6.6L duramax when you factor in the size of the motor, necessary fuel system components, innercooler, physical size of the turbo, weight and other little shit.
The fact is, a dressed 6.5 weighs about as much as a big block where as a 6.6 duramax weighs about 900 to 1000 lbs fully dressed.
A while back I read something about this incident and it was saying that either someone forgot to disable something or that something failed and the limo went into "fuck you" mode and applied the brakes, killed the engine, and deflated the air suspension. This "feature" is a security feature for if someone ever tries to steal the Beast.
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