During the inauguration ceremony of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, the updated AURUS Senat Limousine and new AURUS Merlon electric escort motorcycles were shown. FSUE NAMI, the leading scientific and engineering center of the Russian transport industry, is responsible for the development and design of the car and motorcycles.
We wrote earlier about the Aurus Senat updated specifically for the inauguration; here we suggest focusing on the two-wheeled steed.
The prototype of the Aurus Merlon electric motorcycle (Merlon is a battlement from the Kremlin fortress wall) began testing back in 2022. In September 2023, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian government and Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov stated that the AURUS Merlon electric motorcycle could appear on the market in late 2024 - early 2025, and already in May 2024 the motorcycle will be part of the motorcade for officials. Today, Manturov noted in a TASS commentary that pre-orders for motorcycles for commercial consumers are already being accepted, but they will reach new owners in 2025. It is worth noting that the exact price for the electric motorcycle has not yet been announced, but approximately you will have to pay from 10–12 million rubles for iron horses.
The peak power of the Aurus Merlon is 140 kW, the maximum speed reaches 225 km/h, and acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h takes 3.7 seconds. On a single charge, the electric motorcycle can travel about 200 km, and one of its important features is the ability to use it at negative temperatures down to -25ºС. It can also please Russian motorcyclists in the cold season with heated seats and handles. The Merlon, like the new Honda Forza 250 models, has electric adjustment of the windshield position. The instrument panel is touch-sensitive. The motorcycle received a reverse gear, a regenerative braking system, ABS, traction control system, as well as the ability to select a driving mode.
The motorcycle is heavy, weighing 370 kg without a sidecar, almost like its gasoline counterparts in this class. Charging the Merlon from zero to full will take an hour when using a standard charging station or from 8 to 10 hours from a home electrical network.
Due to the liquid cooling system of the high-voltage circuit components, the Merlon is able to maintain a constant speed of 200 km/h for a long time. This distinguishes the NAMI development from other, mass-produced electric motorcycles, which traditionally have limitations in dynamic qualities due to overheating of the traction battery.
The motorcycle cannot boast a completely Russian filling, but NAMI notes that «the main part of the key parts and components in the AURUS motorcycle are of domestic production, some of them are produced in Moscow, on the territory of NAMI. A large number of parts and components developed in NAMI are produced by third-party Russian enterprises.»
NAMI and key partners have designed and are putting into production in the Russian Federation: a high-voltage traction battery, a power plant control system, lighting components, electronic control units and all software, external panels and body elements, chassis structural elements, a thermostatic system and other elements.
The development team was led by Evgeny Torzhenov. Conceptually, the Merlon is a top-end touring model, and the motor and controller are probably British, and components from other countries were also used.
It is noted that by the end of the year it is planned to produce 40 motorcycles for escorting the president and diplomatic missions, half of which will be equipped with a sidecar.
At the end of April, www1.ru wrote that the manufacturer received a certificate of approval of the type of vehicle (OTTS) for the motorcycle and is ready for commercial sales.