This is NOT "The Beast"

 I love to watch movies about political intrigue, especially ones that include presidential intrigue.  This usually involves shots of the President going somewhere in his limo.  Except for movies about JFK, this usually involves using a standard stretch limo, complete with opera lights on the side, pulling up.  They may put some flags on the front fenders and a little presidential seal on the door, but it's obvious that it's not a presidential limo.

The new movie, White House Down, opening today (6/28/13),  took things to a new level, automotively speaking.  They built three or four replicas of the newest "Beast".  The real beast is based on the GM TopKick truck and stands over 6ft tall.  Rumors also say that it's powered by a diesel engine, but that's not confirmed.

David Undercoffler / Los Angeles Times

David Undercoffler / Los Angeles Times

David Undercoffler / Los Angeles Times

The replicas, built for around $1 million, looks very much like the real thing.  Click the video below to see a featurette about how they built it.  Kudos to the film for actually going through the trouble of at least trying to be authentic.  And a special thanks for making a featurette about the building of it.  Car nuts like me eat that stuff up. 

Also check out the article from Motor Trend where they actually got to drive these cars!