A New Limo? Or A Disguised Tank?

If you are even remotely familiar with international affairs, you would know who Vladimir Putin is. Recently elected as the president of Russia for the fourth consecutive time, President Putin went to his inaugural ceremony in his new, homogeneously developed armoured limousine. The new Russian-developed (codename Kortezh) presidential car is first of a series which will include armoured sedans, offroad cars and minivans for the Russian government and a very few private parties.

The new limousine replaces his old Mercedes Pullman Guard, which also sends a political statement to the west about Russia's technology and self-sufficiency. Well, we will let the politics be, and focus on the car itself. It has been under development since 2012 by a NAMI, a Russian research institute, in partnership with Russian carmaker Sollers.

Though clear details have not been revealed, the armoured car is reportedly running either a 600-horsepower turbocharged V8 or a turbocharged V12 with 850 horsepower engine from Porsche, but heavily worked upon. The Russian President was personally involved in the development of the vehicle and even drove one of the early prototypes himself. Even the one he took to the ceremony might not be the final but rather an almost finished prototype. The limo obviously will have high ballistic protection and will feature other defensive techniques as well, but all of them still remain unknown for good reason.

In terms of looks, the car looks to be a cross of the RR Phantom from the front and the Merc S from the rear, in a typical limo fashion. Inside, it has seating for 4 in the cabin with the driver section being separate.

While Putin has received his new toy, Mr Trump still awaits his new 'Beast' limousine which has been spotted testing internationally. And while it looks like a Cadillac, it most likely uses a General Motors' truck frame underneath with ballistic protection. This and other armoured techniques will make it weight about 9 tonnes.

Image Credit: Reuters Photographer / Reuters