Riding in style, with bullet-proof glass
The move was tied to the launch of the company’s Equus Limousine, an extended luxury sedan.
If all goes according to plan, President Lee Myung-bak will become the first president in the country’s history to ride in a bullet-proof presidential vehicle made right here in Korea. Hyundai said it plans to provide the Blue House the bullet-proof version of the Equus Limousine ahead of the G-20 summit scheduled for next year in Korea.
“The leaders of major auto-producing countries ride in bullet-proof vehicles made in their own countries,” a Hyundai Motor official said.
Hyundai did not disclose specific details of the vehicles it will provide the Blue House, such as the price tag, the engine displacement or even the distance the vehicle can travel on a flat tire, citing security reasons.
Previous Korean presidents have mainly relied on Mercedes-Benz and BMW for bullet-proof presidential vehicles. Cadillac, Peugeot, Nissan and Toyota also have the ability to manufacture bullet-proof vehicles.
President Lee’s main bullet-proof car is the Mercedes-Benz S600, which is the same vehicle that the late President Roh Moo-hyun rode in during his historical trip to North Korea in 2007. It was the first time that a presidential vehicle traveled across the border of the two Koreas in 62 years.
Mercedes-Benz has been manufacturing bullet-proof vehicles since the 1920s, and its first customer of the this type of car was Japanese Emperor Hirohito. The company makes the vehicles specifically to protect world leaders.
As for the limos Hyundai will provide the Blue House, they are made with a special alloy and have an automatic cooler system in case of fire. The limos also have bullet-proof windows, of course.
Korea’s first bullet-proof presidential vehicle was a Cadillac Fleetwood 62 sedan that U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower gave to Korea’s first president, Syngman Rhee, in 1956.
The Cadillac had a V8 engine with a displacement of 6000 cc and a maximum 230 horsepower.
President Park Chung Hee, though, used a different bullet-proof presidential vehicle: a jeep manufactured by Kaiser in 1965.
The former president even drove the jeep to various economic development sites, including highways that were under construction.
By Lee Ho-jeong [ojlee82@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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