The 6-ton armored vehicle has become a star of Vladimir Putin’s trips abroad, and during a visit to Serbia President Aleksandr Vucic was invited to ride in the Russian president’s motorcade.
In feverish anticipation of Putin’s arrival on Thursday, most leading local outlets published separate profiles of the $150,000 Aurus Senat limousine which made its public debut during the Russian leader’s inauguration in May last year.
And as the presidential plane touched down in Belgrade to be greeted by Vucic and his ministers, the 6.6 meter-long car was waiting next to the runway.
Putin personally welcomed Vucic, who speaks fluent Russian, inside the leather interior, and the two presidents rode in the cortege to lay flowers at a World War II memorial in central Belgrade.
The Aurus featured during Putin’s summit with Donald Trump in Helsinki in July last year, and made the Russian president stand out during the last G20 in Buenos Aires.
Also on rt.com You can now own Putin’s limo! Russia to begin mass producing Aurus cars (PHOTO, VIDEO)An open-top version is set to debut during the Victory Day parade in Red Square in May, while Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev recently swapped his Range Rover for an Aurus.
The company behind the $190 million project to develop a homemade ultra-luxury vehicle announced in December that it was taking pre-orders on the vehicles, which will be delivered from next year. It says that it eventually plans to make 5,000 Aurus limos and premium vans a year.