One of the flashiest ways to show off that you’ve achieved a lot of wealth is to buy a private jet. But what if you’re really not a fan of flying? A Chicagoland Mitsubishi dealership has a wild idea for you: Ride around in a $US3,799,999 ($5,275,159) Learjet turned into a limo. Wait, what?
Yes, this creation is being sold for $US3,799,999 ($5,275,159) at a dealership where you could also spend just 14 large on a Mitsubishi Mirage. This dealership has some really hot cars in its inventory, including a Lucid Air and a Rolls-Royce Ghost. Sadly, the Limo-Jet isn’t parked next to new Mitsubishis, but the dealership’s photo of it in a warehouse should elicit a chuckle.
Chances are that this isn’t your first time laying your eyes on the Limo-Jet. The vehicle lives in Chicago and it has come up for sale a number of times in recent years. It never gets any less amazing to look at, either.
According to a 2006 Chicago Tribune report, the Limo-Jet was the brainchild of Frank and Joanne DeAngelo. Their business, Exotic Coach Limousines, specialises in taking luxury cars and having them sliced in half before adding length and features like dancefloors, fireplaces and more. Turning a Learjet into a limo is just an extension of the idea.
The Limo-Jet was designed by Dan Harris of Jetmousine Inc in Bend, Oregon with Exotic Coach managing the build and finishing it in Chicago. Surprisingly, none of the articles written about the limo explained what the plane started off as other than a “Learjet.” I did some digging, and the fuselage matches up with a Learjet 35. As it turns out, my eyeballing was correct, as an Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association piece confirms my theory that the fuselage started off as a Learjet 35.
The Learjet 35 was produced from 1973 to 1994 and features two Garrett TFE731-2 turbofans mounted in the rear. A variant, the Learjet 36, is famous for having carried Arnold Palmer 36,844 km around the world in 57 hours, 25 minutes and 42 seconds.
Unfortunately, how this Learjet 35 came to lose its wings is unclear.
What you can see, however, is what was done to the fuselage to turn it into a limo. The cabin door, for example, was moved from the left side of the fuselage to the right side.
The windows that used to occupy that space on the right side were then moved to the left. The aircraft’s elevators and rudder were removed, too, along with its engines.
Moving around the exterior you’ll see taillights fashioned to look like thrusters, underglow and a whole lot of speakers.
The turbofans were replaced with speakers, too, and total audio output of the limo adds up to 17,000 watts. Capping off the exterior is candy red paint, 28-inch wheels and a horizontal stabilizer that folds to aid with clearance issues.
It rides on a custom steel skeleton frame, which also houses an 8.1-litre Chevrolet Vortec V8 making 400 HP.
The interior isn’t anything out-of-this-world. The cockpit was gutted and replaced with bits and pieces of dashboard and gauges from the mid-2000s GM truck parts bin. Thankfully, the driver gets a few cameras so they can see what’s going on around the 12.80 m beast.
The build reportedly took some 40,000 hours over the course of 12 years for $US1 ($1) million. Getting the engine mounted up and the limo’s systems working apparently took two of those years. Thus, it made its debut in 2018. The Limo-Jet is part limo and part show car, as you can rent it, but it also spends a lot of time getting trailered to shows.
And it’s seemingly always for sale. It went up for sale in 2019, 2020, 2021 and today with asking prices as high as $US5 ($7) million.
Today’s price is about as expensive at $US3,799,999 ($5,275,159), which would actually buy you multiple real planes, a place to store them, and lessons on how to fly them. But for that price, the limo’s builders say that you get the only street legal Learjet on the road.