Designed with the stated purpose of reviving the Russian car industry, the new Russian brand Aurus aims to start not at the bottom but at the top. Basically, as a builder capable of competing with industry references, such as the unavoidable Rolls-Royce.
After making itself known through the latest limousine at the service of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Aurus has now presented its first production model at the Moscow Motor Show: a shorter version of Putin's car, the one that the name of Senat was given—Senate, in Portuguese.
Powered by a 598 hp V8
To justify the chosen name, among other aspects, is the 4.4 liter bi-turbo V8 engine, which, coupled to an electric motor, announces a combined power of 598 hp.
As for the exterior aesthetics, the lines do not hide the similarities with the British Rolls-Royce, namely, in the front grille, in the rectangular optics and in the classic well-defined three-volume configuration.
Aurus has already guaranteed that it will be able to make Senat available also in an armored version, although only for government entities. Private individuals will only have access to the limousine in a version without bulletproof panels.
Mercedes-inspired interior
As for the interior, the brand bet on a mixture of leather with real wood and polished metal. Here, too, Auris Senat a did not hide his inspiration from other brands, namely Mercedes-Benz. See the all-digital dashboard integrating a huge HD screen.
In addition to these systems, there are a number of driving support technologies, such as Adaptive Cruise Control, Blind Spot Monitoring, Emergency Autonomous Braking with pedestrian recognition and traffic sign reading.
First Russia… then the world?!
With sales scheduled to start only in January 2019, the Aurus Senat will start to be sold only in Russia. Market where the builder expects to sell a total of 150 units in the first year alone.
However, Aurus also does not rule out the possibility of selling Senat in other markets, as, once production is at a cruising rate, the objective is to sell around 10 thousand units per year.
Finally, as to the price, although nothing has yet been released, the most predictable is that the Aurus Senat will boast a more affordable price than any of the Rolls-Royce models. Which, however, does not mean that you can close your wallet much more...
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