Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in Russia today, and with him comes the high-order security detail that will take care of his security during the visit. One of the integral parts of his security detail is his car, the Aurus Senat.
This is Putin’s first visit to India in four years, and throughout the meeting he will be holding holding wide range of talks with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both will be reviewing the full scope of India-Russia’s strategic partnership.
To ensure that Putin is secure during his transit his bespoke armoured vehicle always travels along with him.
Aurus Senat, Russian President’s Vehicle of Choice
A luxury Russian Limousine, it has been designed specifically for presidential and state use. Often regarded as the “ Russian Rolls Royce,” it features an imposing armoured shell, blackout windows, and a plush, high-tech interior to ensure that the connectivity of the president remains unhindered throughout his transit.
Before choosing the Aurus Senat as his go-to choice, Putin used to travel in a Mercedes-Benz Guard Pullman. But later on Moscow replaced all imported state vehicles with new vehicles that had been manufactured in its own Kotzeh project, a programme to develop ultra luxury, fully armoured official vehicles.
Launched during Putin’s 2018 inauguration, the Senat that he uses is manufactured nu Aurus Motors. The brand is a collaboration between Russia’s Nami Institute, Sollers JSC, and UAE Tawazun Holding. Mass production of the vehicle began in the year 2021 at Yelabuga, and since then, the limousine has featured in several high-profile diplomatic moments, including being gifted to the North Korean leader as well.
The Auruas senta that Putin uses has a fully bullet-proof construction, which can easily tackle high-caliber bullet rounds. The vehicle is impenetrable to missile and drone attacks and ensures that the car can easily withstand any kind of targeted attack on the security of the president.
To ensure that the car is secure in every possible way, it has the capability of remaining afloat if ot falls into the water and is designed to uphold its composure until the security and medical team arrives. Beyond these features the car also has run flat tyres along with special protection against chemical attacks. Even after such high-tech features the designs have been able to fit the vehicles with some of the most luxurious interiors to ensure that the political leader can travel with ease.
The Aurus Senat, powered by a 4.4 litre Twin turbo V8 hybrid engine, even with its hefty weight, the car has the capability to accelerate from 0-100 kmph in only around 6-9 seconds with a top speed of 160kmph/
Price of the Aurus Senat
The base model of the Aurus Senat’s price starts at around 18 million, about 2.5 crores. Its hard to ascertain the value of Putin’s vehicle as it’s fully armoured and is packed with classified security tech, it would be nearly as expensive as that of the basic model. Such versions are not available for everyone to buy.
When PM Modi rode along with Putin in the Senat
In September, after the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO) summit in China, PM Modi and Putin traveled together in an Aurus Senat from the venue to their bilateral meeting place. As per media reports, Putin had waited more than 10 minutes for PM Moi to board the plane, and the two leaders spent close to an hour in conversation during the drive.
Donald Trump’s vehicle of choice
General Motors was first commissioned by the secret service in the year 2014, and were soon awarded three contracts for the new limousine. Each state car was expected to cost close to uS $1-1.5 million nad by January 2016, Gm had paid $15,800,765 for its work on teh new model.
The car is nicknamed the Beast and it has some of the most high tech state of the art features that help it ensure that the security of the president remains impenetrable.
As per a report by NBC news the beast weighs close to 20,000 pounds and has the capacity to seat seven. To ensure that it can take care of the president in case of an accident it stores blood, is hermetically sealed against a chemical attacks and features run flat tires, night vision devices and smoke screens. Beyond that the car also has oil slick as defensive measures against attackers.
The Armour that surrounds the vehicle is crafted out of aluminium, ceramic and steel and has thickness of 8 inches. The windows are multi layered to ensure that the sedan can easily withstand any king of ambush attack.
Also Read: Toyota Camry Review: how it stacks up against German saloons – Watch the full video
