In the presidential limo
Strictly Confidential Information
Mercedes-Benz employee Andrei Gizhitsky assured the correspondent of Za rulyom. RF that this car is an exact copy of the cars in which the president and prime minister of the Russian Federation are transported. His "full name" is the Mercedes-Benz S 600 Pullman Guard, nicknamed "Pullman."
The word Pullman is borrowed from the so-called Pulman railway cars, which have become famous since ancient times for their level of comfort and safety. Guard - the name of the division of Mercedes-Benz, which create vehicles with a special kind of protection.
About Guard in the Russian Federation. Anyone can buy German armored high-class limousines, just select the configuration options and contact any Mercedes-Benz dealer with them. For Guard, our country, as the brand representative assured, is unconditionally a priority market with stable demand. Cars are ordered not only by the Kremlin garage, but also by private companies and individuals. Not only from Moscow and St. Petersburg, but also from other cities (for some reason, residents of regional centers and villages are not interested in them). The company does not disclose the exact and even approximate number of “armored cars” traveling around the Russian Federation, as well as to whom they belong - this is, by corporate rules, strictly confidential information.
About the price, as is customary, at the end of the material.
The armor is strong …
Customers from Russia almost without exception order cars of the highest protection categories VR6 and VR7 (designations according to the European classification). Such indexes suggest that the car will protect passengers from fragments of hand grenades that hit explosive elements. It is most significant that it will protect against defeat after a shot from an army rifle (at any angle of fire) with a 7.62 caliber cartridge with a heat-strengthened bullet core.
In the presidential limo
Compare: a bullet from a revolver flies twice as slow, and a lead bullet has significantly lower damage. The VR4 category skin will overshadow it - such limousines are often ordered from Latin American countries where street crime with “pocket” weapons is common.
… and limos are fast
Poglans are created on the basis of S-class cars - S 600 Guard sedans. The wheelbase of the elongated version is increased compared to the base by 115 cm and reaches 4315 mm, the body length is 6356 mm. Gross weight - 5360 kg.
Under the hood is a 12-cylinder biturbo motor with a working volume of 5513 cm 3, it develops 380 kW (517 hp), and the torque is an impressive 830 N ∙ m. The maximum speed is 165 km / h.
The car has a 5-speed transmission, shifting - shift paddles.
Larger diameter brake discs, each with two calipers. The braking distance from 100 km / h to a full stop is only 1 m longer than the usual S 600.
The chassis is adapted for the weighting that arose with the built-in body segment and special protection elements (they are made of high alloy steels and composite materials). Doors will say a lot about the increased mass. In addition to an additional “armor” layer in them hardened window frames, a special glass, on the inside of which is a layer of polycarbonate. The weight of each door exceeds 150 kg. Believe the word to the author who tried: close-open it with a flick of the wrist does not work, you have to make an effort. Pose is appropriate. Presumably, security guards help presidents open and slam the doors not only out of politeness, but also so that a high-ranking person does not look comme il faut.
In the presidential limo
Doors swing open almost to the right angle. Doors swing open almost to the right angle.
Suite office
The roof of the new government limousine was elevated above the rear of the cabin, with it, of course, more space above your head. Four passengers will be located behind. According to the Pulman tradition, their seats are arranged "vis-a-vis" - facing each other. This is usually the case. However, if the customer wishes, the middle row can not be installed, and the limousine will not be six-, but four-seater. Exactly so: only two sit on the back of the couch, as the console occupies the middle place familiar to “civilian” cars.
I would call it multifunctional. The upper thin pad serves as an armrest. If you lift it and fold it back, you will see a panel stuffed with buttons, it also has a handset. Through it, you can contact the driver (if raised soundproof, electrically adjustable transparency partition between the "office" and the driver’s compartment), as well as with the whole world.
On the panel, electric regulators:
- each of the parts of the seats, headrest adjuster (they duplicate those on the doors), including; in addition, three modes of storing seat configurations;
- mesh sun blinds (separate buttons "open" and "close" for both doors);
- climatic installation;
- inflated seat cushions and side supports for the back - to get comfortable, if, say, pulls a nap.
Pullman 333
The panel with buttons can also be lifted and “flipped” to the back of the sofa. Underneath is a refrigerator. It fits five-liter bottles and chips. Why not premiere them in love!
Individual lighting shades and “personal” air conditioning deflectors, cup holders, cosmetic mirrors, three niches of varying degrees of capacity (in the center console and between the backs of the rear seats), an audio system, etc., of course, are available.
The seat of the main passenger is not equipped with additional conveniences: the Mercedes-Benz company, which lives in a democratic country, does not offer such a service. It is enough that if there are four presidents in the “cabinet”, everyone will be in the same conditions of high comfort and security.
In the presidential limo
The manufacturer provides interior options. The manufacturer provides interior options.
The driver and his "eyes"
As applied to cars of this kind, the concept of "driving safety" has, you see, a more significant meaning than other cars, even if a luxury class. Therefore, the drivers of government limousines were "assigned" effective electronic assistants:
- Tracking objects in the "dead zones".
- Night vision system. Replaces the main beam (it can not be turned on in all situations). This is an infrared radar; a black and white image is displayed on the central display, in the picture there is a clear detail of objects in perspective.
- Active cruise control. Indispensable when driving in a cavalcade. Sets the speed mode, as well as the distance to another object moving in the cavalcade, say, to an escort vehicle. With its help, the pulman automatically slows down and stops, up to the application of emergency braking, if the situation requires.
- The function of holding the car in the lane. The radar (located under the windshield) reads the markings, and if the machine is shifted relative to it, the automation takes preventive actions - it starts the braking. For the driver, this is a signal. Clearly, the function works if the road markings are readable.
- Traffic Sign Tracking System. She is in two parts. A cartographic program with all traffic signs and established speed modes in a given area is loaded into the on-board computer. However, radars read traffic signs in real time. The data is summarized. If temporary signs appear in the field of view of the “eye”, say, in the areas of repair of the roadway, priority is given to the instructions of temporary signs - and, for example, there is a speed drop.
In the presidential limo
Governing bodies. There is no gear shift lever at all - with the automatic gearbox, the driver only works with shift paddles. In place of the selector - a twist control image functions on the display. Nearby is a telephone. Governing bodies. There is no gear shift lever at all - with the automatic gearbox, the driver only works with shift paddles. In place of the selector - a twist control image functions on the display. Nearby is a telephone.
Many of these features may seem like a redundant service for those who are driving. But remember that the head of a pulman driver is not only engaged in taxiing. As a rule, he is a member of the security team and must assess the situation from the standpoint of the passenger’s physical safety. And then, considering who you carry, you have to control the air conditioning, under his tutelage the fire extinguishing system - in the pulman there is such.
Elk test with a verzil
"Sat down and drove" behind the wheel of a pulman, if it works out, it's bad. The representative of Mercedes-Benz Andrei Gizycki happened to drive this car, and he said that the dimensions and weight are noticeable.
For applicants for the driver’s seat of government armored limousines, the manufacturer holds courses in Germany, on the closed Guard track. “Dummies” are not accepted - only those who are already “with you” with the basic model S 600 Guard get here. German instructors help to get comfortable with the five-ton mass, changes in the stabilization and braking systems, to understand the peculiarity of accelerating, which is simple, as well as braking speakers. Cadets learn to go through turns, perform rearrangements ("moose" test) and other exercises.
Inexpensive
The company indicates the maximum depreciation period for the Mercedes-Benz S 600 Pullman Guard: 15 years. But we know that the "Germans" live longer. And in fact, about 6000 of these limousines travel today on the roads of many countries of the world, among them there are specimens of 20 years of age, they hold well and look good. By the way, the manufacturer of luxury armored cars takes out their cars to put them in order. If it is the will of the customer, the company will equip the machine with modern systems.
For those interested in the subject to buy: the price of a pulman in the performance for the sovereigns (in the protection category VR6 / VR7):
- base Mercedes-Benz S 600 - 8 million 100 thousand rubles;
- extension and reservation package - from 50 million rubles.;
- total - from 58 million 100 thousand rubles.
With our ideas about our own purchasing power, it’s just right to say: sky-high price! But let us recall that the decisions of passengers of such vehicles, primarily the first persons of the state, “cost” billions, tens and hundreds of billions. These values should be compared. So let them use it: they will be more intact - unexpected troubles will not fall on us.
History in photos
In the presidential limo
In the presidential limo
In the presidential limo
