The Last Real Cadillac Presidential Limo Is For Sale

U.S. presidential limos generally don’t end up on an auction block sharing the stage with a Harley-Davidson golf cart, but that’s how it goes at Mecum’s annual Kissimmee, Florida sale this month. Up for grabs with just 672 miles on the odometer is a 1996 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham armored limousine built for President Bill Clinton, and honestly its connection to Bubba might be the least interesting thing about it.

VIN 1G6DW52P7TR710054 is one of three armored Fleetwood Broughams delivered to Clinton during his term. One is permanently displayed at the Clinton Presidential Library & Museum in Arkansas, while the CIA never released the other. In a press release from 1993 posted with the listing, GM estimated the three Cadillacs cost at least $6 million to develop, which would be over $13 million today.

At the time, GM was eager to snatch back the state car contract after President George H.W. Bush spent his administration riding around in a Lincoln Town Car. Clinton’s election in 1992 coincided with GM’s launch of the new Cadillac Fleetwood as the brand’s top luxury sedan. Fleetwood had been an important name for Cadillac, but after a painful stretch in the 1980s when it was slapped on downsized front-wheel-drive cars, it was in need of a rebrand. The new Fleetwood, a proper rear-wheel-drive, body-on-frame Cadillac, was up to the challenge.

The presidential limo version was stretched by four feet, loaded up with B6-level body armor and bulletproof glass, and given a three-inch-higher roof. Under the hood is a 454 cubic-inch (7.4-liter) V8 hand-built by Jack Roush that is paired with a four-speed automatic transmission. Apparently it can hit 142 mph. But can it J-turn? You betcha.

The interior is decked out in plush dark blue leather upholstery and matching carpet as well as Zebrano wood accents. Onboard are oxygen and fire suppression systems, plus a small entertainment hub that includes a Thomson television and VHS player. The rear can accommodate up to six passengers when three flush folding seats are used. Whatever advanced communication systems used to be present have long since been removed, but the oxygen, fire suppression, and public address systems are still intact.

Officially known as the presidential state car but often informally referred to as the presidential limo, the first U.S. president to actually get wheels not attached to a horse was Franklin D. Roosevelt, starting with a 1936 Packard Touring Limo. According to the Secret Service, though, an armored vehicle didn’t become a priority until the U.S. involvement in World War II. As the story goes, a seized Al Capone gangster ride was used as a quick fix due to its bulletproof glass until the Lincoln K “Sunshine Special” arrived, fully armored, in 1942. 

A string of modded Lincolns followed until the 1980s. Cadillac finally got its turn to tour with the president when Reagan took delivery of a 1983 Cadillac Fleetwood. The vehicle featured the required armored body and bulletproof glass, but also the now-famous raised roof and seats. Outside of a George H.W. Bush blip when he used a Lincoln Town Car, Cadillac has since been the go-to builder of presidential state cars.

The Fleetwood also became the last state car based on an existing model when the GM stopped making the B-body civilian Fleetwood in 1996, leaving America without a suitable production sedan for the job. Since then, Cadillac-badged president limos have been specially built vehicles using heavy-duty truck chassis. And honestly, it’s just not the same anymore. The state car is supposed to reflect the pride of a country, and the roided-out Beast we use today just doesn’t have the presence of this Fleetwood.

The last-of-an-era presidential limo is part of Lot S45 of the Kissimmee 2025 auction, which runs from January 7 through 19. The Fleetwood Brougham Presidential Limousine is scheduled to cross the block on January 18.