It's all well and good to have an opulent limo, but what about the humble, strange, forgotten state cars?
We've already covered the most interesting and unusual limos in the world. Most of them were fairly opulent, bespoke, multi-million dollar one-off creations that are rarely seen in the day-to-day. But what about the equally strange, yet very, very average state limos?
Think something you'd travel in because the government gave it to you and not because it's particularly comfortable or safe.
You see, some states don't care for a gratuitous display of security or wealth. Some states are just too humble, approachable or just short on funds...
FSO Polonez (Prime Minister of Poland, 1993)
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It's 1993 and the Cold War is kind of over. You're the Prime Minister of Poland and you want to make a statement of national identity. Got it. You drive around in a locally-produced FSO Polonez.
If you're thinking 'the Cold War might be over, but this car is still stuck in it' you'd be right, it's essentially a Fiat 125 chassis (dating back to the 70's) with Ford bits in the powertrain. Weird.
Still, if it's your only national marque and you need to show the people you support national manufacturing... what's a guy to do?
Proton Perdana (Prime Minister of Malaysia, 2013)
In case you somehow can't see it, this is actually a Honda Accord with a bit more metal. Malaysian media points out that the odd chrome line travelling down the car is to allow the prime minister a larger window, and totally not because they couldn't make the normal design of the Accord work over such a long wheelbase.
The engine is equally as disappointing, With Honda's (likely to be stock) 2.4-litre 4-cylinder struggling with a much heavier car, you'd better hope you won't need to be fleeing any pursuits...
ICKO Samand Sarir (President of Iran, 2006)
This is not an expensive car. ICKO Samand's most expensive export vehicle costs around AU$11,000. Even if it were a special armoured state car, there's simply no way it can cost more than $100k. ICKO's website proclaims, rather proudly, that this is 'The most luxurious Iranian car ever'.
It's based on a '90s Peugeot 405, streched out a little and stuffed with leather and screens, to make it more stately. Power? Get ready... a 'locally designed' 1.8-litre 4-cylinder producing an earth-crushing 82kW. The manufacturer doesn't even list an automatic transmission as an option, so your chaffeur better be able to drive manual.
Volkswagen Beetle (President of Uruguay, 2010)
From 2010 to 2015 the President of Uruguay, Jose Mujica, was one humble dude. He refused to live in the presidential palace, refused the aid of presidential staff and on top of that, refused to accept a state limo. He instead drove his 1987 Volkswagen Beetle to work.
As immaculately kept as his little blue Beetle is, its value (as reported by the government) was only AU$2,500. That didn't stop someone from offering him a million dollars for it, which he said he would give to charity.
Hulas Mustang Bulletproof Max (Prime Minister of Nepal, 2011)
Yeah, turns out Nepal has a national manufacturer. They're called Hulas, and they made this thing... It looks a little like a hideous Mercedes-Benz G-wagen in profile but i'd be willing to bet it'd run rough, even compared a 70 Series or similar. The Prime Minister of Nepal picked one up in 2011 as a show of confidence in Nepalese industry. They produced a special bullet proof edition just for the occasion.
To Hulas credit, they would rather discontinue the line than accept a lesser-powered Euro III compliant Chinese motor, stating to the Nepalese media that it did not meet customer demands in hilly terrain. Good on them.
You're a head of state on a tight budget, which of these very special cars would you rather have? Tell us about it in the comments.
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