The recently appointed 13th President of India, Pranab Mukherjee will be taking the oath on July 25, 2012 and with that he will be entitled to commute in a plush Mercedes-Benz S600 Pullman. One of the indicators stating the growth of Indian economy is the progress in the official state car used by the President of the country. Gone are the days when the Presidential convoy used to comprise of all white Ambassadors, which were locally manufactured by the Hindustan Motors.
Pullman, which was bought in as the President's car during the tenure of Pratibha Patil happens to be an epitome of luxury unlike the Hindustan Motors Ambassador. The Ambassador was much sturdy in terms of built, however, it lacked on the features that goes with the stature of a President. The 'Pullman' does the job and fits the bill perfectly. The model has been specially designed to serve the first citizen of the nation, with the interiors marking the heights of luxury and the cabin being separated from driver's area.
This heavily armoured car weighs an additional tonne over the stock weight, which requires the powertrain to be quite robust and thus, the 5.5 litre engine does the job. The peak power churned by the engine stands at 515 bhp of maximum power, which can easily take out the ‘His Majesty’ from unwanted situations.
Being the ‘President’s Car’, Mercedes-Benz S600 (W221) is a ballistic resistant model, which can absorb impacts of gunshots from military grade rifles as well as grenades. Taking the security a notch above are the Michelline Pax tyres, which are bullet proof and can run for additional 30 km at 80 kmph in inflated state. The car also boasts of a panic alarm system that can be activated from any of the passenger seats to lock all the doors.
Furthermore, according to an official of Mercedes-Benz, “If any of the eight dual-stage air bags or seat belt-tensioners gets deployed in the vehicle, an automatic call is initiated. Also the Pullman is terrifically plush with state of the art craftsmanship.”
Considering the fact that India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and its President enjoying a VVIP status, it is quite necessary that his car should reflect the same. If the fact that the Ambassador is a complete Indian car be sidelined, it fails to generate the spirit of elegance and class that goes with the stature of President. So, it was necessary to replace it with a much more elegant, powerful and stylish car, needless to say the shoes fits Mercedes-Benz S600 'Pullman'.
