Limo Options: Jet Engines, Jacuzzis, More
Today’s limousine comes in a standard shape and size and in variations that are elongated and ornamented to satisfy the most imaginative lover of crushed-velour comfort.
About 6,000 limousines are manufactured each year by an industry that consists of a handful of high-volume manufacturers and countless small operations. The standard limousine is a Lincoln or Cadillac sedan that has been stretched to add 46 inches to 64 inches to its midsection.
The procedure isn’t complicated. The car’s interior is stripped, and the car is cut in half with a welding torch. Prefabricated side panels, roof and floor are fitted in place, along with a new drive shaft. A final welding and paint job are the last steps.
Electronic Gizmos Standard
Standard equipment these days usually includes cellular telephones, videocassette recorders, television sets, retractable “moon” roofs and a host of bar accessories.
For the adventuresome, there’s lots more. Custom limousine shops have stretched Rolls-Royces, Jeeps, Jaguars, Maseratis and Hondas, and added every imaginable kind of upholstery, electronic gadget and decor.
There is a range of special features for politicians and corporate executives worried about security.
A company called Executive Armoring offers bullet-proof limousines that can repel pursuers, in the style of James Bond, with oil slicks and smoke screens. The company says it has developed a high-voltage electrical system that can send a shock through the body of any intruder trying to open its doors.
Ultra Limousine, of La Palma, has attracted wide publicity in recent years by making itself the company that leads the way in the creation of the wildest limousines.
92-Foot Limo Seats 35
Ultra, which has sold limousines to Clint Eastwood, Frank Sinatra and Liberace, has built cars with jet engines. For an executive desperate to keep in touch with the outside world, Ultra built one that held a computer terminal and eight phone lines.
In 1986, the company built a 92-foot, $3-million limousine that seated 35 and came equipped with a small swimming pool, a Jacuzzi and a 20-foot putting green. Now the company’s at work on a $5-million, 150-foot model that will have a suntan parlor, a sushi bar and a small bowling alley.
For Walt Disney Co., Ultra built a $1-million, 41-foot “liMOUSEine” designed to carry Mickey Mouse on a promotional tour. Disney claims that the car is the longest fixed-frame automobile that can be legally driven on the public roads.
“We’ve done about everything you can do,” says Vini Bergeman, Ultra’s Bronx-born president. He seems to speak with no fear of contradiction.
