Aurus Senat Gets New Armoured Design to Fit Putin's Style

The executive Aurus Senat has received a new body modification: an armored limousine without the traditional center stretch. The project comes from RIDA, a Nizhny Novgorod-based company known for its expertise in special-purpose vehicles and automotive protection systems.

Photo: Own work by Alexander Migl, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Aurus Senat

Extensive Body Redesign and Structural Changes

The vehicle features a visibly reworked rear body section and a distinctive door geometry. The rear doors now use a straight cut line, while the rear pillars incorporate additional triangular windows. RIDA engineered and manufactured entirely new rear door and quarter panels, and the company also refined interior trim elements. These changes represent a deep structural redesign rather than a simple adaptation of an existing version.

Not the Same as the Earlier NAMI Limousine

The new variant differs from the limousine previously presented by NAMI. The differences affect the shapes of the doors and rear body panels, creating a separate visual and engineering identity. For the 2026 vehicle market, this development marks an important signal: independent manufacturers increasingly build their own interpretations around the Aurus platform.

Aurus as a Platform for Specialized Vehicles

The emergence of alternative Senat configurations reflects the growing capabilities of private coachbuilders. It also strengthens Aurus positioning as a flexible platform for specialized and armored applications rather than solely a flagship luxury brand. As a result, choosing the optimal vehicle for government or corporate security tasks now depends not only on the base model but also on the specific engineering approach of each manufacturer.

Since 2024, the President of Russia has been using a restyled version of the armored Aurus Senat limousine. However, the sedan variants — both the standard and the long-wheelbase models, as well as the armored versions of each — have continued to be produced in their pre-facelift form. In the near future, these “junior” modifications are also expected to undergo a restyling.

At the Aurus production facility in Yelabuga, where the brand’s vehicles are manufactured on a serial basis, a major modernization program is currently underway, leading to a temporary suspension of plant operations. Once the production lines are upgraded, manufacturing of the facelifted Senat models will begin.