All about the “command car”, the vehicle on which the president goes up the Champs-Élysées

The president scrolls each year on the Champs-Élysées aboard the Vlra Command Car of Acmat. Special adapted for the July 14 ceremony, this robust 4×4 symbolizes the continuity of the French Republic.

This year, during the July 14 parade on the Champs-Élysées, the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron will descend the most famous avenue in the world on board an emblematic military vehicle: the Vlra Command Car of Acmat. A tradition that has continued since the time of Valéry Giscard d’Estaing which piloted the first Acmat Command Car in the 1970s for the parades of July 14. All the presidents of the Fifth Republic are then aboard this same legendary vehicle, with the same registration: 682,0733. The command because is today a real symbol of the French Republic.

Military vehicle obliges, the PERKINS engine of the command car is a 6 -cylinder diesel which develops between 120 and 145 horsepower depending on the versions, which can propel this 4×4 4,300 kg empty up to 100 km/h on the road. Its carrying capacity reaches 6,800 kg in charge, while its autonomy with a single full can go up to 1000 km depending on the configurations.

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The imposing dimensions of the vehicle – 5.35 to 6 meters in length for 2.07 meters wide – give it a majestic presence during the parades. Its all-terrain capacities impress: it crosses slopes from 60 to 65% and crosses fords of 0.90 meters without any particular preparation. Not sure that this is useful on the Champs-Élysées.

This is why ACMAT engineers specifically adapt the vehicle for presidential protocol needs. They install a handrail on the entire width of the rear compartment, allowing the president to stand up to greet the troops and the public. Identification pennants support the front wings, adding to the solemnity of the whole.

The industrial success of the Command Car

From an industrial point of view, ACMAT (Atlantic mechanical construction workshops) is today integrated into the Arquus group, and manufactures these exceptional vehicles in its Saint-Nazaire factories. The robustness and reliability of the VLRA seduce far beyond French borders. ACMAT has exported more than 12,000 copies to more than 50 countries, where they serve in the armed forces but also as a city vehicles for other heads of state. This international broadcast makes the French command because French an ambassador of national military know-how.

The French army deploys around 800 VLRA, mainly within special forces which appreciate their mechanical simplicity and their great autonomy. The modular design of the vehicle makes it possible to adapt it to multiple uses: troop transport, ambulance, mobile command post. But the command because transcends its function as a simple military vehicle and becomes 14-July a motorized witness to republican continuity and the greatness of the country.

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