How A Presidential “Beast” Limo Almost Got Overrun In The Slums Of Mumbai

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated May 2, 2021 2:18 PM EDT

The limousines that the U.S. Secret Service uses to drive around the President of the United States, nicknamed Beasts , are some of, if not the most specialized and sensitive cars out there on the road today. Still, under all the armor and other modifications, they are cars – or maybe more accurately trucks – that are designed, operated, and maintained by humans who sometimes make mistakes. So, things happen, including breakdowns. That’s exactly what former Secret Service Agent Bill Gage says happened during President Barack Obama’s visit to India in 2010, where one almost ended up stranded on the road after the brand new Beast overheated deep in the slums of Mumbai and again when an agent accidentally filled one of the gasoline-fueled vehicles with diesel.

The Beast rolls past an honor guard during President Barack Obama’s visit to India in 2010., AP

Gage, who first joined the Secret Service in 2002 and was a Counter Assault Team (CAT) member, told these two stories about the Beast’s time in India more than a decade ago in a recent episode of The Team House podcast . CATs ride in other vehicles in any Presidential Motorcade and provide an immediate tactical response force should the convoy get ambushed or find itself in any other kind of serious contingency scenario. You can read more about the complete structure of a typical Presidential Motorcade in this past War Zone feature .

Gage did not say when exactly either of the two incidents he described took place, but said that they both happened in Mumbai. Obama visited India between Nov. 6 and Nov. 9, 2010, in what was his first trip to the country as President. He traveled to both New Delhi, the country’s capital, and Mumbai, its largest city and a key financial center, during the visit.

In Mumbai, among other things, he paid tribute to the victims of a major terrorist attack there in 2008. During these four days in India, he also met with both then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and then-President Pratibha Patil, and addressed the country’s parliament. Obama also traveled to India in 2015, but did not visit Mumbai during that trip.

Gage further explained that the issue of the car overheating took place before Obama arrived. “It’s [the Beast] gotta be there before the President arrives,” Gage said. “The threat level was so high on that trip and we flew in a day ahead of Obama on that trip.”

He also said that the vehicle that overheated was a “brand new” presidential limousine that had been extensively “field-tested.” Available pictures , some of which are seen earlier in this story, of the limos used during President Obama’s Trip to India in 2010 all appear to show examples of a version of the Beast , which was externally styled after the Cadillac DTS sedan, that first emerged at President George W. Bush’s first inauguration in January 2001.

A picture of first-generation Cadillac DTS-styled Beasts in 2005., Paul Carter

However, Obama’s first inauguration in January 2009 had been the public debut of a new design , which is externally reminiscent of the Cadillac STS. This sounds like the model that Gage was referring to on the podcast.

Just to note, another version, with an outward look similar to the Cadillac CT6, appeared in 2018 . The Secret Service will typically have multiple sets of Beasts ready to go for major events and overseas trips. A single motorcade will also have more than one, with the empty cars serving as decoys, as well as backups in case one is immobilized for any reason. Seven Beasts, a mixture of STS and CT6-styled types, were notably part of a massive motorcade used for President Joe Biden’s inauguration in January.

All of the Beasts have been designed and built by General Motors and are understood to use more robust SUV or truck chassis to handle the added weight of the vehicle’s armor and other unique features. The exact specifications of the Beasts are highly classified, but are said to have protection against small arms and other light weaponry, including rocket-propelled grenades, as well as mines. They reportedly have a host of other defensive and general safety features, including an onboard fire suppression system, run-flat tires, and an interior hermetically sealed against nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) threats. Other specialized capabilities, including night vision driving systems, a secure communications suite, and more, round out the features of these cars, which you can read more about here .

“I know what some of the capabilities are. I’m not gonna get into it on the podcast,” Gage said. “Some are really high classified that I don’t even know about.”

Regardless of the exact model of Beast and its capabilities, Gage explained that all of the elements of the motorcade had arrived in Mumbai a day ahead of Obama. The plan was to stage the vehicles at a U.S. State Department facility in the city for the next day’s travel.

Beast limos and other US Secret Service vehicles onboard a US Air Force cargo plane ahead of President Donald Trump’s tour of Asia in 2017., USSS

“So, we land, and, for whatever reason, we had to drive through the slums of Mumbai,” he recalled. “It was hot as a m-fer, man, that day in India.”

The temperatures in Mumbai were in the low 90s between Nov. 6 and Nov. 9, 2010, according to Weather Underground , in line with average temperatures there for that time of year.

“Well, dammit, the thing overheated on this Indian road through the slums. It overheats, like steam is coming out of the engine,” Gage continued. “Nobody’s in it, we’re driving an empty motorcade to get to this storage facility, this embassy offsite, and the driver comes on and he’s like ‘guys, I gotta stop, this thing is like redlining it’s so hot.'”

So they do and “thousands of Indians are coming around and this is a classified piece of U.S. government property,” he said “The [CAT] team leader, he was like ‘guys, let’s take up positions around the limo so this thing can get cooled off.'”

“Thousands of Indians are coming out of these slums, man, and we’re like ‘what are we gonna do?’ We can’t shoot these people,” he added. “We can’t just start wasting Indian civilians because they want to touch this limousine, but it ended up cooling down enough and we were able to get to this offsite.”

A member of the US Secret Service, at right, with a member of India’s security services, at left, during President Barack Obama’s visit to the country in 2010., AP

In the end, Gage said that the limo was stopped on the road for between 10 and 15 minutes. It’s not hard to see how even this short amount of time stopped could have been a major security issue. Of course, had President Obama been in the motorcade at the time, the Secret Service would certainly have moved him into a backup Beast, but this would eliminated a decoy vehicle in the process. As Gage noted, the sensitive nature of the car means that there would still have been a particular need to ensure nothing happened to the stranded vehicle.

Later in the trip, disaster nearly struck again just four hours before the motorcade was due to take Obama to an event, according to Gage. They had stopped at an Indian gas station to fuel up beforehand and the Beast’s driver had inadvertently begun filling the car’s tank with diesel, despite it having a gasoline-fueled engine. Diesel doesn’t work properly in engines designed to run off that fuel and can cause significant damage to the internals.

“I remember turning to him [the driver], his first name started with W, and I was filling up the CAT truck with unleaded, and I remember looking at him, and I was like, ‘hey, W, that’s diesel, man,’ and the panic on his face,” Gage remembered of the incident. “He said every cuss word.”

“We had to get an Indian tow truck and Obama was supposed to go live, man, in like four hours to this major event,” he continued.

Gage explained that the Secret Service’s Transportation Section has an entire staff of highly trained mechanics with certifications straight from General Motors. However, he added that, while a contingent of them will travel where ever the presidential motorcade goes, they rarely get called upon to do anything.

“The look on these guys’ faces,” he said. “We were like, ‘listen, man, we filled this thing up with like five or six gallons of diesel,’ and they were just like so excited.”

“These mechanics, unbelievable, in like four hours took this whole engine apart, drained all the fuel, cleaned the fuel pump,” Gage continued. “Brand new fuel pump, brand new fuel filter, got this thing up and running, it was amazing … in the heat of Mumbai, India.”

Thankfully, in both of these instances, according to Gage, the Secret Service was able to get the Beast back up and running without any major impact on the rest of the trip, as one would expect from these highly trained professionals. This is also hardly the only time a Beast has found itself in a similar predicament during a U.S. President’s visit overseas.

A Beast carrying President George W. Bush broke down in Rome, Italy, in 2007. As is seen in the video below, the President was quickly moved into one of the alternate Beasts in the motorcade.

In 2011, during Obama’s visit to Ireland that year, one of these limos got stuck on a ramp while leaving at the U.S. Embassy in Dublin. Another Beast ended up on the back of a tow truck in Israel in 2013 while Obama was visiting that country, reportedly after another case of someone filling it with diesel instead of gasoline.

Still, Gage’s recollections about the Mumbai trip offer a fascinating window into the more mundane trials and tribulations of the presidential motorcade.

Contact the author: joe@thedrive.com

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作者：约瑟夫·特雷维西克

更新于美国东部时间2021年5月2日下午2:18

美国特勤局用于接送美国总统的豪华轿车，绰号“野兽”，即使不是当今道路上最专业、最敏感的车辆，也绝对是其中之一。然而，在所有装甲和其他改装之下，它们仍然是汽车——或者更准确地说，是卡车——由人设计、操作和维护，而人有时也会犯错。因此，意外情况时有发生，包括车辆故障。前特勤局特工比尔·盖奇表示，2010年奥巴马总统访问印度期间就发生过这种情况：一辆崭新的“野兽”在孟买贫民窟深处过热，险些抛锚；另一次，一名特工误将一辆汽油车加成了柴油。

2010年，美国总统奥巴马访问印度期间，“野兽”号巡洋舰驶过仪仗队。（美联社）

盖奇于2002年首次加入特勤局，曾是反突击队（CAT）成员。在最近一期“团队之家”播客节目中，他讲述了“野兽”十多年前在印度的那两个故事。反突击队成员乘坐其他车辆随总统车队出行，一旦车队遭遇伏击或其他任何严重突发事件，他们便能立即提供战术反应。您可以在之前的“战区”专题报道中了解更多关于总统车队完整架构的信息。

盖奇没有具体说明他所描述的两起事件发生的时间，但表示两起事件都发生在孟买。奥巴马于2010年11月6日至9日访问印度，这是他作为总统首次访问印度。访问期间，他先后到访了印度首都新德里和最大城市兼重要金融中心孟买。

在孟买，他除其他事项外，还向2008年当地发生的重大恐怖袭击事件的遇难者致敬。在印度的这四天里，他还分别会见了时任总理曼莫汉·辛格和时任总统普拉蒂巴·帕蒂尔，并在印度议会发表了讲话。奥巴马也曾在2015年访问印度，但那次访问并未到访孟买。

盖奇进一步解释说，汽车过热的问题发生在奥巴马抵达之前。“（那辆“野兽”）必须在总统到达之前就到位，”盖奇说。“那次行程的威胁级别非常高，所以我们比奥巴马提前一天飞抵目的地。”

他还表示，发生过热的车辆是一辆“全新的”总统座驾，并且经过了广泛的“实地测试”。现有照片（其中一些已在本报道前面出现）显示，奥巴马总统2010年访问印度期间使用的座驾似乎都是“野兽”的某个版本，其外观造型仿照凯迪拉克DTS轿车，该车型最早于2001年1月乔治·W·布什总统的首次就职典礼上亮相。

2005年第一代凯迪拉克DTS风格的“野兽”车型照片，保罗·卡特

然而，奥巴马2009年1月的首次就职典礼上，一款全新设计的车型首次公开亮相，其外观与凯迪拉克STS颇为相似。这听起来像是盖奇在播客中提到的那款车型。

值得一提的是，2018年还出现了另一款外观与凯迪拉克CT6相似的车型。美国特勤局通常会准备多套“野兽”装甲车，以应对重大活动和海外出行。一支车队中也会有多辆“野兽”装甲车，空车既可作为诱饵，也可作为备用，以防其中一辆因任何原因无法使用。今年1月，在乔·拜登总统的就职典礼上，一支庞大的车队中就使用了七辆“野兽”装甲车，其中包括STS和CT6两种车型。

所有“野兽”战车均由通用汽车公司设计和制造，据了解，它们采用更坚固的SUV或卡车底盘，以承受车辆装甲和其他独特功能带来的额外重量。“野兽”战车的具体规格高度机密，但据称能够抵御小型武器和其他轻型武器（包括火箭推进榴弹）以及地雷的攻击。据报道，它们还配备了一系列其他防御和安全功能，包括车载灭火系统、防爆轮胎以及可抵御核生化（NBC）威胁的密封内饰。此外，这些战车还具备其他专业功能，例如夜视驾驶系统、安全通信套件等等，您可以在这里了解更多信息。

“我知道其中一些功能。但我不会在播客里细说，”盖奇说。“有些功能属于高度机密，连我都不知道。”

无论“野兽”的具体型号和性能如何，盖奇解释说，车队的所有车辆都比奥巴马提前一天抵达孟买。计划是将车辆停放在美国国务院位于该市的设施内，以便第二天出发。

2017年，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普访问亚洲前夕，美国空军运输机上装载着包括Beast豪华轿车在内的多辆美国特勤局车辆。

“所以，我们下了飞机，不知什么原因，我们不得不开车穿过孟买的贫民窟，”他回忆道。“那天印度热得要命。”

据 Weather Underground 报道，2010 年 11 月 6 日至 9 日期间，孟买的气温在 90 华氏度左右，与该季节的平均气温一致。

“哎呀，这车在穿过贫民窟的印度路上过热了。发动机都冒蒸汽了，”盖奇继续说道。“车里没人，我们开着空车队去这个仓库，也就是大使馆的异地办公地点，司机突然说：‘伙计们，我得停车了，这车都快到红线了，太烫了。’”

于是他们照做了，“成千上万的印度人围了过来，而这可是美国政府的机密财产，”他说，“（CAT）小组组长说，‘伙计们，我们围在豪华轿车周围，好让它凉快下来。’”

“成千上万的印度人从这些贫民窟里出来，我们当时就想‘我们该怎么办？’我们不能射杀这些人，”他补充道。“我们不能因为他们想碰这辆豪华轿车就随意杀害印度平民，但最终火势降了下来，我们得以转移到这个偏僻的地方。”

2010年，美国总统奥巴马访问印度期间，一名美国特勤局特工（右）与一名印度安全部门人员（左）合影。（美联社）

最后，盖奇表示，这辆豪华轿车在路上停了10到15分钟。不难看出，即使是这么短的停留时间也可能造成重大的安全隐患。当然，如果奥巴马总统当时就在车队中，特勤局肯定会安排他换乘一辆备用的“野兽”装甲车，但这也就意味着少了一辆诱饵车。正如盖奇所指出的，考虑到这辆车的特殊性质，仍然需要特别注意确保这辆抛锚车辆的安全。

据盖奇称，在行程后期，就在车队准备载奥巴马前往活动地点前四个小时，险些再次发生意外。他们事先在一家印度加油站加油，结果“野兽”的司机误将柴油加进了油箱，尽管这辆车是汽油发动机。柴油在设计使用柴油的发动机中无法正常工作，可能会对发动机内部造成严重损坏。

“我记得我转头看向他（司机），他的名字以W开头，当时我正在给CAT卡车加无铅汽油，我记得我看着他，说：‘嘿，W，那是柴油，伙计！’他脸上露出惊慌的表情，”盖奇回忆起当时的情景。“他把所有脏话都骂了个遍。”

“我们不得不找一辆印度拖车，而奥巴马原本应该在四个小时后直播参加这个重大活动，”他继续说道。

盖奇解释说，特勤局运输部门拥有一整套训练有素的机械师团队，他们都持有通用汽车公司颁发的认证。但他补充说，虽然其中一部分人会随总统车队出行，但他们很少被要求执行任何任务。

“看看这些家伙脸上的表情，”他说。“我们当时说，‘听着，伙计们，我们往这玩意儿里加了五六加仑柴油’，他们简直兴奋极了。”

“这些修车师傅真是太厉害了，只用了四个小时就把整个发动机拆开了，把燃油全部放掉，清洗了燃油泵，”盖奇继续说道。“换了全新的燃油泵和燃油滤清器，让这车重新运转起来，真是太棒了……而且还是在印度孟买的酷暑下。”

值得庆幸的是，据盖奇称，在这两次事件中，特勤局都成功地让“野兽”恢复运行，没有对接下来的行程造成任何重大影响，这不愧是训练有素的专业人员。而且，这也不是“野兽”在美国总统海外访问期间唯一一次遇到类似情况。

2007 年，载着乔治·W·布什总统的“野兽”豪华轿车在意大利罗马发生故障。正如以下视频所示，总统迅速被转移到车队中的一辆备用“野兽”豪华轿车里。

2011年，奥巴马访问爱尔兰期间，其中一辆豪华轿车在离开都柏林美国大使馆时被困在了坡道上。2013年，奥巴马访问以色列期间，另一辆“野兽”豪华轿车在以色列被拖车拖走，据报道，原因是有人误将柴油加到了车上，而不是汽油。

不过，盖奇对孟买之行的回忆，为我们了解总统车队中那些更为平凡的考验和磨难提供了一个引人入胜的窗口。

联系作者：joe@thedrive.com

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