Fuel-cell-based Aurus Senat debuts with 600 km of range

Russian luxury car maker Aurus has attended the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok with a special modification of its Senat sedan. The car received a hydrogen powertrain for 600 km (404 miles) of electric driving range.

The company said that production would begin in three years’ time. It never announced any other technical parameters. Aurus first unveiled the hydrogen-powered Senat in late spring when it launched a car production line in Yelabuga, Russia. Back then, it claimed that the powertrain was designed in NAMI (full name: Central Scientific Research Automobile and Automotive Engines Institute).

Upon giving his assessment to the prototype, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov claimed the Senat prototype was the world’s first vehicle with this kind of drivetrain. Later on, the Ministry of Industry and Trade announced mass production planned for 2024.

Aside from the Senat, the Aurus lineup currently includes an SUV named the Komendant and a van dubbed the Arsenal. However, only the first out of these three models has reached the market so far. In early 2021, the company announced that the base trim level would cost 18 million rubles (around $247,000 USD at current conversion rates). The First Edition would hit the showrooms priced from 22 million RUB ($302,000 USD).