Following the footsteps of the United States' President who gets his personalized, highly secured Cadillac One for the road transport, Russia's Vladmir Putin also got his own presidential limousine in the form of Aurus Senat in 2018. Since then, Putin has been travelling in the Russia-made car, and spotted multiple times driving the vehicle himself, including the famous visit to the Sochi Autodrom, home of Russian F1 GP, where he drove around the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on the track himself. The Aurus models were named after the Senate, Commandant, and Arsenal towers of the Kremlin in Moscow. Here's a picture gallery of Vladimir Putin's Aurus Senat presidential limousine.
To counter the United States' Cadillac One (a specially crafted vehicle to transport the POTUS), Vladimir Putin, the Russian President commissioned a program to promote Russia-made cars and ordered a presidential limousine for himself.
To facilitate the President's call, Aurus Motors was founded in 2018 as a Russian luxury automobile company and made vehicles only for the Russian presidential state car and motorcade vehicles, including the Presidential Limousine - Aurus Senat. In 2021, the company launched its first civilian model, again the Aurus Senat.
The vehicles initially launched by the Aurus Motors under the Aurus Kortezh (Russian for cortege or motorcade) line of vehicles included the Senat sedan and limousine, Arsenal van, and Komendant SUV. The three vehicles are named after Kremlin towers.
The armoured Aurus Senat limousine is powered by a 4.4-litre V8 engine developed by NAMI (Central Scientific Research Automobile and Automotive Engines Institute).
The Aurus Senat limousine is measured at 6,620 mm (260.6 in) in length, 2,020 mm (79.5 in) in width and 1,695 mm (66.7 in) in height. It has a wheelbase of 3,300 mm (129.9 in) and a Curb weight of 6,200 kg (13,669 lb), which is due to heavy armour, making it 2.5 times more heavier than regular version.
Vladimir Putin is among a handful of state heads who loves to drive his vehicle, despite protocols being in place. In 2018, the Russian President held official talks in Sochi with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and took him on a ride around the Sochi Autodrom race track.
Later, Egyptian President also inspected the Aurus Arsenal minivan, accompanied by Sergey Gaysin, Director General of the NAMI State Scientific Center.
Vladimir Putin's Aurus Senat Presidential Limousine
Vladimir Putin's Aurus Senat Presidential Limousine
Vladimir Putin's Aurus Senat Presidential Limousine
Vladimir Putin's Aurus Senat Presidential Limousine