Meet Vladimir Putin’s car Aurus Senat: Tank-like limo that’s almost battle-ready

In the midst of ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, it was reported in September this year that Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s motorcade was attacked in an assassination attempt, as per a Mirror report. The president walked away unharmed as the vehicle drove to safety. But he was in a decoy or ‘backup’ motorcade at the time. So, what is the Russian president’s usual set of wheels? And how tough is it, considering the nature of his job? Here’s a look.
The US president’s Beast gets a lot of attention and you’ll find a lot of trivia about the car on the web, but Russian president’s Aurus Senat’s has to be just as intriguing. The current state car of the Russian president Aurus Senat replaced the Mercedes-Benz S 600 Guard Pullman. The Senat was publicly presented for the first time at the Fourth inauguration of Vladimir Putin in 2018.

The car is built by Russian automaker Aurus Motors and developed by NAMI in Moscow. It is powered by a 4.4-litre V8 that makes 598 hp and 889 Nm, paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission. It can do a 0-100 km/h sprint in six seconds and a top speed of 249 km/h.

The limousine is of course armoured and can withstand armour-piercing bullets and grenade attacks. There will be a lot of features that have not been revealed in public information but we can only assume, the limo will be equipped with substantial firepower, and life-saving and firefighting equipment in case of an attack.
The driver of the Aurus Senat would most likely be a member of the special forces trained to be able to deal with a fist or knives or firefights, along with driving skills good enough to be able to pull J-turns in a stretch limousine.