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Massive, heavy, and blocky, the Aurus Komendant is a projection of Russian state energy at a time of giant financial and humanitarian upheaval.
Launched the opposite week at a museum run by the Russian Federal Protecting Service (FSO) that’s tasked with defending authorities officers, the Komendant, like different Aurus autos, has been designed primarily to ferry round Russia’s elite.
The Komendant has an upright stance, massive rectangular grille with vertical slats, and squared-off headlights. All of which give the crossover greater than a passing resemblance to the Rolls-Royce Cullinan, though it misses out on the British automotive’s reverse-hinged rear doorways.
The tail-lights, however, appear to be a reference to the pre-facelift Bentley Bentayga.
The inside is kitted out with Nappa leather-based, steel and Russian wooden trim, adjustable ambient lighting, wi-fi cellphone charging each back and front, a Wi-Fi sizzling spot, and an analog clock.
The 2 rear seats have entry to tables that fold out of the centre tunnel, a minibar-style fridge, and particular person multimedia screens.
Different obtainable options embrace air suspension, adaptive steering, and varied driver help options.
The Komendant, just like the Senat sedan, is powered by a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 hybrid drivetrain producing a complete of 446kW and 880Nm, and drive all 4 wheels through a nine-speed automated transmission with a built-in 46kW electrical motor.
Prime pace is an unremarkable 220km/h, whereas the 0-100km/h time is equally torpid at 6.5 seconds. Gas economic system is a hefty 18.5L/100km on the mixed cycle. These lower than stellar figures are probably because of the automotive’s excessive curb weight of 3235kg.
Whereas the Komendant measures 5380mm lengthy, 2004mm extensive, 1820mm tall, and has a 3100mm wheelbase, the launch mannequin is barely obtainable with 4 seats.
Driving on commonplace 20-inch alloy wheels, with 21- and 22-inch rims obtainable, the Komendant’s air suspension might be raised from the 230mm of floor clearance to 260mm if the roads get just a little tough, which they have a tendency to do exterior of main cities, like Moscow and St Petersburg.
As with different luxurious autos priced north of US$200,000, the Komendant is very customisable through a big choice completely different leather-based, wooden, and color mixtures.
We’re unsure how or when the Komendant will begin rolling down the manufacturing line given Russia has been hit with punitive sanctions in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine, and lower off from the worldwide inter-bank switch system.
In consequence main industries have been starved of imported parts, and automakers, together with Ford, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Renault, have left the nation, promoting their property for notional quantities.
Lada — previously part of the Renault Group — has restarted manufacturing in the midst of the yr, however just for stripped-back fashions that largely do with out foreign-sourced parts.
The Granta “particular version”, for instance, is fitted with the bottom 1.6-litre engine, 4 audio system, however no audio system.
Aurus was based in 2018 to provide Russia’s official state automobiles, and started promoting civilian variations of those autos in 2021.
Russia’s Central Analysis and Improvement Car and Engine Institute (NAMI) has a majority stake in Aurus. NAMI’s different main funding is Lada, which it purchased from Renault in mid-Could this yr.
Previous to the invasion of Ukraine, the Aurus sedan and limousine had been constructed by Sollers at a manufacturing unit collectively owned by Ford, and which additionally produced the Transit van.
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