Ride like Putin: Aurus trots out luxury limo at Geneva show

GENEVA (AP) — If you want to ride like Vlad — Russian President Vladimir Putin, that is — this may be the limo for you.

At the Geneva auto show, Russian automaker Aurus has trotted out a hulky, luxurious Senat Limousine L700 with lines vaguely reminiscent of a Rolls-Royce.

It’s the European debut of a vehicle whose designers want to crack a Western market of rich pop stars and business execs.

The company’s stand on Thursday featured a model that once toted around the Russian leader. He’s also driven the Aurus himself.

Aurus CEO Franz Gerhard Hilgert said of Putin: “He is really deeply interested in technology and in many things hands on. And so he needs to understand what it is, how it works — and if he likes it.”