Vladimir Putin’s Aurus Senat: What sets the Russian president’s ultra-armoured limo apart
Russian President Vladimir Putin's two-day visit to New Delhi brings a rare sight to Indian roads, the Aurus Senat, his ultra-armoured state limousine. Blending vintage-inspired design with cutting-edge fortification and a powerhouse V8 engine, the Senat is built to function more like a mobile fortress than a luxury car. From its Soviet-era styling cues to the controversies surrounding its global appearances, here's what makes it special.
New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to land in New Delhi today for a two-day state visit from December 4 to 5. This is his first trip to India in four years. And as always, he plans to make an entrance. Travelling with him is the Aurus Senat Limousine, Russia’s official presidential car and easily one of the most imposing luxury vehicles on the planet. If a James Bond antagonist ever swapped action sequences for diplomatic summits, this is likely the machine he’d choose.
All about Aurus Senat
The Aurus Senat that carries Putin is a stretched, heavily fortified limousine built by Aurus Motors in Moscow. Drawing design cues from the Soviet-era ZIS-110, it blends vintage limousine proportions with near-military-grade protection—rumoured to withstand everything from armour-piercing rounds to catastrophic blasts. Powering the beast is a 4.4-litre V8 engine producing up to 598 bhp and 880 Nm of torque. For those who believe global diplomacy demands extra muscle, the manufacturer even offers an 850-bhp V12 option.
India has seen this limo in action before. During the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Tianjin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Putin reportedly spent over an hour inside the vehicle, likely in discussion over bilateral and global issues. The Senat has also grabbed headlines for more controversial reasons.
Limited elite buyers
In 2024, Putin gifted two models to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a move that drew global criticism because it violated UN sanctions. Aurus Motors, established in 2018 to create Russia’s state limousine fleet, expanded to civilian sales in 2021. Its ultra-luxury vehicles now count only a handful of global leaders as owners, including Turkmenistan’s Serdar and Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow.
Putin’s visit this week will include comprehensive talks with Prime Minister Modi as part of the 23rd India–Russia Annual Summit. But for car enthusiasts, the rare spectacle may well be the Aurus Senat rolling through Indian roads—a limousine so commanding, it makes even top-tier luxury cars feel like fresh recruits.