Few people took it seriously when U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that he felt like hitting the Daytona 500 racetrack upon returning from vacation in Palm Beach, Florida, to Washington DC. Well, he did.
Back then, we suspected that the Beast, Trump’s armored stretch limo, would look out of place on a racing circuit. This may very well have been the case, too; but who cares? Watch the official footage for a rare sight of a presidential motorcade speeding along the Daytona.
This year’s race is going to be the 62th so far, and it is going to be the opening race of the NASCAR series. Daytona 500 execs have already responded to Trump’s visit by saying it was ‘a great honor.’
The Beast may look like a stretched-out Cadillac on the outside, but it is actually a one-off vehicle designed with a Chevrolet truck chassis at the core. Its armor plating and padding, comm center and loads of other equipment make it weigh around 20,000 pounds (nine metric tons). As for the price, sources say U.S. $1,500,000 sounds realistic.
You may be surprised to learn that Donald Trump is not the first President to have hit a racetrack piloting a stretch limo. Vladimir Putin beat his U.S. partner to this achievement in October 2018, having done a Sochi Auto Circuit lap behind the steering wheel of his Aurus Senat.