It's all very secretive, as you can see from the camo covered prototypes cruising around the barren and cold Russian wilderness. Oops! I guess I gave away the answer with this hint (and maybe the title?). How special is it to have a car company, in this case ZIL (who actually hasn't made a car or truck since 2012), step up to design and build something just for the head honcho? Oh sure, there will be a few others given to the "chosen ones", but overall production will be tiny or less.
This company has been known as the limo builder for Mother Russia for many years, with its cars always resembling slightly past due American iron, specifically Packards........
Not the least bit original, but what the heck, there was nobody to compete with them, as the closed borders of the Soviet Union and the lack of money, meant only the top politicos could find themselves behind the curtained back windows of these big, usually black, limos.
For a change of pace (the Packard must have become passe'), as the front end of this later model picked up on design cues of the 1961 Cadillac. And why it is that most of these pics were taken in winter enforcing that stereotype of this very cold country?
Even those out of date ZIL designers wanted to catch up to the decades just passed, so more modern looking cars came out of the plant. Of course, the requisite cold photo fits right in.........
........but for a change of pace, the last generation ZIL limo leaves the Kremlin in summer passing by St. Basil's Cathedral, as it leaves the tourists behind to ponder who this car might be waiting for. I've been there and can tell you for a fact that any car in front of this fanciful church will look somber and boring (well, maybe not one of the new Lexus').
So, with all this history and the desire to be seen in a Russian mobile, ZIL once again has become involved in the process of creating a new ride for the head thugs and oligarchs. Well, maybe not the latter, as they probably all have Rolls-Royces. If you were designing a new limousine for the head of your country, who would you copy?
Sure, do the Rolls and why not? Now, what surprises me is the size of this new state limo, as it looks a little compact. Not to worry, since when his Royal Putinness gets aboard, this baby with have the presence it needs to impress the proletariat. No truck-like Cadillac limo for this dictator.
Or maybe a wide open landau, the better to be adored in?
The hell with security, no one would dare take a shot, but if they did..........
You got it, a ZIL hearse to die for.
But back to the reality of Putin's new ZIL. Time is running out as the deadline is his inauguration in the spring of 2018. Would you want to be the one to tell him it won't be ready? Maybe that hearse might come in handy after all.
Until next time.......
No comments:
Post a Comment