Putin Takes Egyptian President For a Spin in His Aurus Senat on The F1 Track

This is how EuroNews describes the Russian President’s latest showing of machismo, which consisted of taking the Egyptian President on a ride in his brand new state car. It wasn’t just a regular ride, though, as the video at the bottom of the page show: it was a ride on the F1 track.

“Vladimir Putin took a Russian-made luxury car for a spin around an F1 track in his latest testosterone-charged photo opportunity,” the publication notes. “Russia’s president drove his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, around the Sochi Autodrom. El-Sisi, on an official visit to Russia, sat in the passenger seat as Putin showed him what the limousine's 4.4-liter engine could do.”

This might not be as impressive as the now-viral stunt of him horseriding shirtless, but it must have been enough to impress el-Sisi. After all, the known specifications of the Aurus Senat indicate that it’s one impressive machine.

Recently debuted to the public, the Senat is Russia-made but has a Porsche-Bosch engine. The car is also known as the Kortezh and, according to reports, it can be fully submerged in water and still function properly. It’s bullet-proof and light (compared to other state cars), has puncture-resistant tires and a communications systems that never goes offline. Putin has several of them, which are used as decoys during state visits or in emergency situations.

According to the media outlet, it can also go 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in less than 6 seconds, while offering an “uncompromising level of ballistic and explosive protection.” In other words, of all the things Putin showed off with, this is perhaps the most worthy of actually being shown off. No offense to his pecs.