Presidential State Car (Brazil)

Presidential State Car

The state car of Brazil is a Rolls Royce Silver Wraith, which is used by the President of Brazil on ceremonial occasions, such as Independence Day commemorations, state visits and the inauguration of the President-elect. This is one of the two Rolls-Royce models purchased by former President Getúlio Vargas in 1953.

Origins

When Getúlio Vargas became president in 1951, he had two Cadillacs as official state cars, dating from 1941 and 1947 respectively. Rolls-Royce was chosen to prepare four Silver Wraith models with special modifications for security, with the intention to purchase two examples. Vargas received the first hardtop model on 31 January 1953. The first foreign head of state to use it was General Manuel Odria, President of Peru.

The government paid £5,831 for the hardtop model and £7,540 for the second Silver Wraith, a cabriolet. The cars were paid for by wealthy friends as a present to Vargas himself, on condition that he would donate them to the presidency at the end of his term in office.

With political problems, Vargas shot himself in the chest on 24 August 1954 and, with his suicide, the handover did not happen. The cars became part of the President's estate and were claimed by his family. The solution only came in 1957, although the cars had still been used by President Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira in the interim. The family took the hardtop Rolls-Royce and gave the cabriolet to the presidency. The last official service of the hardtop model was for the personal transportation of Berta Craveiro Lopes, wife of General Craveiro Lopes.

Queen Elizabeth II

It had been claimed that the convertible model was a gift from Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, but this is not the case, although she did use the car during a 1968 state visit to Brazil.

Nowadays

The car can be seen in state ceremonies that take place on the first Sunday of each month at the Planalto Palace and in the streets around it. Sometimes, the car is also used for the rehearsal of state ceremonies and parades. Its speed limit is 80 km/h, but it is rarely seen to travel faster than 20 km/h.

The daily transportation of the President is made by modern vehicles, with the Rolls-Royce reserved exclusively for ceremonial occasions.

In 2001, the Rolls Royce was sent for restoration by President Fernando Henrique Cardoso after 48 years of service.

Day-to-day transport

Day-to-day transport for the president of Brazil is an armored 2011 Ford Fusion Hybrid built on a Ford CD3 platform. This vehicle replaced the 2008 Ford Fusion used previously. The Ford Fusion is also used in the presidential motorcade.

In February 2012 the Brazilian government bought 12 Canadian-built Ford Edge models, 10 of which armored, for the use of President Dilma Rousseff and her security team.

The federal government's most important officials (President, Ministers, Magistrates, etc) use yellow-green brass plates adorned with the coat of arms of Brazil and their titles engraved on them (e.g., President of the Republic, President of the Senate, Defense Minister, Supreme Court President, etc).