Initially established as a Russian motorcade vehicle brand, Aurus Motors (Russian: Ауруc Моторс) is a luxury automotive manufacturer based in Russia. In 2021, the company’s first civilian model, the Aurus Senat, went into production in May. According to the company, 115 vehicles were sold in 2023.
The corporation claims that Aurus is a combination of Rus and aura, or aurum, which is Latin for “gold.”
| Website | aurusmotors.com |
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In order to replace the Mercedes-Benz S 600 Pullman Guard that was in use at the time, NAMI started work on a new Russian presidential state vehicle in 2013.
Under the Aurus Kortezh (Russian for cortege or motorcade) brand of automobiles, the new Russian presidential state car and motorcade vehicles were unveiled in 2018. This covers the Arsenal van, Komendant SUV, and Senat car and limousine. The three cars have Kremlin towers as their names.
The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade said on February 19, 2019, that Tawazun Holding, an Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates-based company, would invest US$124 million over the course of the next three years to acquire a 36% share in Aurus Motors and distribute the company’s vehicles throughout the Middle East.
Aurus showcased the Senat and Senat Limousine at the 2019 Geneva International Motor Show in March, giving a sneak peek at the cars’ upcoming retail release.
G-Drive Racing joined forces with Aurus for the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans, which took place on June 15–16. They raced an Oreca 07 that was rebranded as the Aurus 01. After 364 laps, the team placed eleventh in the race.
At the Ford Sollers plant in Yelabuga, Tatarstan, which also produces the Russian-spec Ford Transit, Sollers JSC started producing the Senat motorcade car for civilian use in May 2021. The debut edition model cost about 22 million rubles (US$297k), while the base model started at about 18 million rubles (US$243k).
Kortezh series
The Aurus Kortezh line is developed by NAMI and manufactured by Sollers.
Civilian models
- Senat (2021–present), a full-size luxury sedan
- Senat Limousine (2021–present), an armored limousine based on the Senat sedan
Motorcade vehicles
- Arsenal – a luxury passenger van (Аурус Арсенал)
- Senat – a full-size luxury sedan (Аурус Сенат)
- Senat Convertible – a luxury convertible (Аурус Сенат Кабриолет)
- Senat Limousine – an armored limousine based on the Senat sedan and the official Russian president state car (Аурус Сенат Лимузин)
- Komendant (released in November 2022), a luxury full-size SUV (Комендант)
Upcoming models
- Merlon (to be released in 2023), an electric motorcycle prototype[20] (Мерлон)
Motorsport vehicles
- 01, a rebadged version of the Oreca 07 Le Mans Prototype racing car, released in 2019 and eligible for the 24 Hours of Le Mans
