The story behind Russia’s Aurus presidential car

Meet Aurus, the luxury Russian car designed and produced within a record timeframe, especially for President Putin. In only five years, the state-of-the-art presidential vehicle was created from scratch and made the first public appearance at Vladimir Putin’s inauguration in May 2018.

In 2012 Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated the Aurus project. It was turned into reality by the renowned NAMI Institute, which developed the first Soviet automobile. It has since become the symbol of Russia’s technological excellence and reflects the country’s prominent status.

The goal was to create a car with features that would satisfy the unique requirements of the presidential garage while meeting the wants of luxury car buyers in the retail market and serving as an apparent reference to the country of its origin.

To create a true masterpiece of the automobile industry, the NAMI team used the experience of prominent national and foreign carmakers.

To know best how to satisfy the consumer’s desires, they got the opinions of people who drive such expensive, luxury cars. So 60 Rolls-Royce and Bentley owners went into the room where an Aurus model was with competitors to the left and right. They were asked if they liked the car, how they would appraise it, what they didn’t like, and wrote it all down.

Before making the first public appearance during Vladimir Putin’s inauguration in May 2018, Aurus underwent dozens of tests to meet at least 60 criteria: safety, visibility, environmental safety, gas consumption, brakes, etc. As a result, the design and construction were altered several times. But the result was worth all the failed tries.

“It’s how it’s always been in Russia. If we want something, we’ll get it!” says Denis Dryagin, deputy CEO for marketing and commerce at NAMI