The history of the limousine: from the very first to the present day

A limousine is a car that anyone would recognize because of its extended bodywork. Over the years, the limousine has undergone quite a few transformations both externally and internally. The peculiarity of the body of such a car is that the driver’s seat and the passenger’s seat are separated inside the cabin by a partition, thus increasing the comfort for passengers. 

The first limousine cars

The first limousines saw the light of day around the 1920s in America. When the whole of Europe was suffering from wars, America was living as usual and was in development, so new machines were invented. The first limousine was invented by American designer Henry Leland, founder of the Cadillac and Lincoln companies. This limousine was made of rigid metal, had two doors and two windows in the passenger compartment only, and the driver’s seat was open on the sides and had only a roofline. And even then such a car was loved by wealthy people, the fact that the driver was separate from the passengers, and they had the opportunity to enjoy the trip exclusively in their company. 

Limousine enhancements

In the early 20’s, famous car maker Henry Ford took over limousine production. He took the production of these cars to a new level, after which Lincoln and Cadillac limousines became mandatory in the fleet of millionaires and U.S. presidents. 

The emergence of limousines in Europe

Even though Europe was experiencing some difficulties, it did not want to fall behind the already fashionable and developed America in those years. So famous European companies pick up the idea of American designers to create an unusual car. European-made limousines were produced from the assembly line of such companies as Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-Benz and differed from American limousines in greater comfort, luxury and beauty. In Britain, the limousine de ville was a version of the limousine cabriolet in which the driver’s compartment was located outside and was not protected from the weather. 

Limousines these days

Gradually new models of limousines were created, by special order of wealthy people and celebrities. What made these limousines special was that the front body of the car was based on another famous car, such as an SUV or sports car. Such limousines are striking in their length and beauty, externally they are finished according to the latest innovations of tuning, and inside the interior is made more comfortable. Such limousines are already considered modern and they can be found quite often on city streets. 

Now many members of the government, celebrities and just wealthy people do not use and do not have in their car fleet limousine, this car has already lost the importance that was awarded to him in the heyday of popularity. Today, a trip in a limousine can afford and people of the middle class, for this purpose it is enough to apply to a firm for limousine rental for a certain period of time. Very often limousines are rented for any celebration, such as a wedding, birthday, graduation, with such a car the celebration looks richer and more festive.