United States President Joe Biden made a country-wide transition to electric vehicles part of his campaign platform back in 2020, and since taking office has doubled-down on his plans to boost his country’s commitment to electrified mobility.
But even the most dyed-in-the-wool EV enthusiast might be surprised by comments made by Biden’s press secretary earlier this month.
When asked if Biden was looking to electrify the White House fleet of vehicles – including the massive presidential limousine colloquially known as “the Beast” – White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki explained that this was an “objective” for the President.
The news that Biden is considering electrifying the presidential limousine was obscured, somewhat, by the much more headline-worthy pronouncement Biden made regarding the electric Ford F-150 Lightning utility vehicle he test drove earlier this month.
After taking Ford’s highly anticipated all-electric F-150 for a test drive around the company’s testing track in Dearborn, Michigan, the President pulled up alongside a gaggle of press and declared gleefully, “This sucker’s quick!”
And indeed, the Ford F-150 Lightning is quick, according to Ford, who officially launched the vehicle last week, boasting the fastest acceleration of any F-150 the company has made, jumping from 0-96.5km/hr in around 4.5 seconds.
According to Eamon Javers, Senior Washington Correspondent for CNBC, when asked whether President Biden would electrify the White House fleet of vehicles, including “the Beast”, Psaki replied saying “That’s certainly something the President has talked about and is an objective for him.”
An electric beast? On AF1, WH press secretary Jen Psaki was asked if President Biden will electrify the WH vehicle fleet, including the presidential limo known as "the Beast." She said: "That's certainly something the President has talked about and is an objective for him."
— Eamon Javers (@EamonJavers) May 18, 2021
US Presidents have travelled in specially designed vehicles since President Franklin D. Roosevelt bought the “Sunshine Special”, a 1939 12-cylinder, four-door convertible originally built by Lincoln but modified for the President according to Secret Service standards by specialty coach builder Brunn & Company.
Since then, the presidential limousine has evolved and in 2001, for the first inauguration of George W. Bush, a custom-built limousine was built by an R&D arm of General Motors to meet the needs of a new millennium.
Weighing in at 14,000 pounds, or 6,400 kilograms, it is unsurprising that the vehicle was for the first time nicknamed “the Beast.”
President Bush’s limousine was replaced after the inauguration of President Obama with what many speculated to be a much heavier Beast, but given the necessary secrecy around protecting the US President, very little was actually known for certain.
During Trump’s presidency, a new limousine was commissioned that weighed approximately 20,000 pounds and was one of a dozen vehicles that were part of a contract initially estimated at $US15.8 million and, according to NBC News, “designed to help the commander in chief survive virtually every possible form of attack from a terrorist or assassin.”
To that end, the new Beast also included “an extensive range of medical supplies on board, including a refrigerator full of the president’s own blood type.”
Biden, a genuine gearhead and the owner of a 54-year-old, 1967 Corvette, is now riding in yet another revision of “the Beast”, but one that actually cost much less than previous models.
Again, the official specifications are secret, but it is believed to run with 10-cm thick armoured windows and armour plating said to be as much as 15-cm thick.
Given all of this top secret but obviously very heavy defensive design, conversations around designing and running an electric presidential limousine have immediately turned to whether it’s even technically feasible.
Consider, though, that the already-mentioned Ford F-150 Lightning weighs in at 6,500 pounds, or around 3,000 kilograms. Despite this, it can still accelerate from 0-96.5km/hr in around 4.5 seconds and boasts an electric range of 370-kilometres for the base level model, and 480-kilometres for the extended range option.
So while an F-150 is probably only ever going to measure in at half the weight of a presidential limousine – not taking into consideration towing and carrying capacity – we can already see that an all-electric Beast is not impossible, nor even unlikely.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.