Aurus Senat, or Putin’s golden limousine
One of the most awaited cars at the recent Geneva Motor Show was the Aurus Senat, or the Russian limousine for politicians and the rich.
It was announced a while back that the Russians were working on a car that would be on par with the Rolls-Royce. A year ago, during the swearing in ceremony of Vladimir Putin for the next term of Russian presidency we could admire a completely new car that drove Putin to the event. It was still nameless at the time. It was not until two weeks later that the automotive learned that the car would be called Aurus Senat. I had the opportunity to see it up close during my visit to the Geneva Motor Show.
This is not a car for regular drivers
It took designers and engineers years to create Putin’s new limousine. The works had been given the code name “Cortege”. Their objective was to develop a Russian state car that could easily rival makes such as the Rolls-Royce. It was meant to be comfortable, sophisticated and easily improved e.g. with armour. After all the car of the “ruler of Russia” cannot be just a regular limo.
In fact, the name of the car is telling of its uniqueness: Aurus is the combination of the Latin term aurum (gold) and the suffix “rus”, which is the international symbol for Russia. Russian gold at its best.
Size does matter
In Geneva, two versions of the Aurus were exhibited: the S600, or the standard version of the car and the Limousine L700, or the elongated version (6,63 m-long with a 4,3 m axis). Both models were equipped with a hybrid transmission system with a V8 4.4-litre gasoline engine. The car has an automatic gear box. Its power? 600 HP. The “short” Aurus accelerates from 0 to 100 kph in 6 seconds, and it takes the longer one 9 seconds to do the same.
Royal interiors
On the outside the Aurus does not differ in any significant way from its foreign counterparts. It is simply a limousine which is not pretending to be something else. So, there is the massive grille, lots of chrome-plated elements and the huge 20-inch rims.
The cockpit abounds in solutions well-known from other cars in this class. One display replaced the clocks and the other serves as the control panel for the infotainment system. The driver can avail himself or herself of such assisting systems as the emergency braking system detecting pedestrians, a system monitoring the blind spot and an adaptive cruise control.
The interior is neither surprising nor disappointing. It is synonymous with sheer luxury: the beast leather, top quality wood, comfortable seats, well-thought-out solutions and even curtains in the rear window.
The price tag? No exact figure has been revealed but some claim it to cost PLN 600,000 for the basic model.
My impressions of the car
The Aurus Senat is a car which at first glance does not look any worse than its Western competitors. Great appearance, powerful engine and comfortable interiors are one of its greatest merits. No limo manufacturer would say no to a specification like this. Time will tell whether the Aurus Senat meets the expectations we have of it, and whether the make attains cult status on par with the Rolls-Royce.
