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ZIL-41052, This Bulletproof Limo Ferried Russian Presidents In The 80’s – Check It Out
ZIL-41052, this big and boxy bulletproof presidential limousine ferried Russian presidents in the 80’s.
The massive limo was driven by Putin’s Soviet predecessors, including Leonid Brezhnev, Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin.
Just 13 of the ZIL-41052 were built from 1988 to 2002. They were part of Russian government fleet from 1989 until 2007.
One of these ‘Beast’ was in the market back in 2014. The asking price then was $1.6m (N612.8 million).
Two years ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin traded his highly favoured German made official state car Mercedes-Benz S 600 Guard Pullman for Aurus Senat L700 limousine.
The impressive new Russian-made beast was launched on the 7th of May 2018 during Putin’s inauguration as he began his 4th term and another six years as Russia’s president.
The L700 was an obvious response from Russia to overcome western sanctions by reducing its dependence on imported goods and technology.
The 7-tonnes limo dubbed the ‘Bunker On Wheels’, is the first domestically produced presidential car since the 1990s.
But before the Aurus Senat, the Russian Presidents in the Soviet-era depended on the armoured ZIL-41052 presidential limousine.
This massive limousine were driven by some of Putin’s Soviet predecessors, including Leonid Brezhnev, Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin.
The Soviet-era limousine has an armour protection level of 12v and weighs a staggering 5,500 kg (12,125 lbs). It is 6,339mm (249.5in) long, 2,088mm (82.2in) wide and 1,540mm (60.6in) tall.
Powering is a 7.7-liter V8 engine producing 315 horsepower at 4,600 rpm. The carbureted V8 can propel the limousine to a top speed of 190 km/h (118 mph).
Just 13 of the ZIL-41052 were built from 1988 to 2002. One of these ‘Beast’, which was reportedly part of Russian government fleet from 1989 until 2007 , was in the market back in 2014.
This particular limousine was purportedly used by the President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev and subsequently by the President of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin, after the collapse of the U.S.S.R.
According to its listing, this 1989 ZIL-41052 armour-plated limousine has just 18,271 on the odometer. The asking price then was $1.6 million — more expensive than brand new US presidential state car aka the ‘Beast’.
