The next presidential elections will be held in Russia in 2018, and at this inauguration ceremony the head of state will be driven in a Cortege limousine. domestic production.
As the media found out, funding has been retained for the creation of the “Cortege” project, within the framework of which 3.7 billion rubles are allocated from the state budget alone. An assembly site for limousines for top government officials is already located in Moscow.
Thus, the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov recently admitted that budget funding “was not frozen.” “I don’t remember what name (the line in the budget) goes under, but nothing is frozen - 3.7 billion rubles, as planned, it is. All plans not only remain in force, they are being implemented,” he said . Moreover, the prototype, which will not be shown to anyone to maintain intrigue and secrecy, will be ready in January 2016.
“We should ship the first pre-production batch to the FSO at the end of 2017, so you will see it at the inauguration,” the minister shared, referring to the inauguration of the Russian President after the elections in 2018.
“Until now, it is not known exactly what displacement the engine will have - 6.0 liters or 6.6 liters. But the power of this motor should be within 800 Horse power“, the press has already written. Journalists added that there are other cars in the project - “a sedan, an SUV and a minibus”, which will receive turbo engines “with a smaller displacement.”
By the way, the SUV and sedan from the “Cortege” project will be mass-produced - at least 5,000 units per year and will be sold even to private (naturally, very wealthy) individuals. It is clear that private cars of the “Cortege” series will not be equipped with “presidential” armor and special communications (unless, of course, they are purchased at state auctions for the leadership of government bodies).
"The Russian government in July 2013 banned state and municipal procurement cars of foreign production,” the publications said, explaining that we are not talking about Russian complete or “screwdriver” assemblies of foreign cars. However, for senior managers, all cars, their components, assemblies and the smallest parts are checked by the FSO and the FSB for “bookmarks” and vulnerabilities .
Experts, including world specialists in the automotive industry, already recognize that the “Cortege” brand (or “a car like the president’s”) will be very popular among wealthy businessmen and government officials. However, we are not talking about a commercial project - after all, for the first time since Soviet times, Russia will have “its own” supercar, which will be driven by the head of state and his accompanying vehicles.
“As you know, the Cortege project includes the development of a limousine for the President of the Russian Federation, support vehicles in the backs of SUVs and minibuses for accompanying persons,” experts confirm.
“The stylization of the ZIS-115 Stalinist limousine can be considered quite successful: on the one hand, its motives are unmistakably recognizable in the prototype of the “Cortege” project, on the other, they do not have a single exterior detail similar in shape,” the media share, analyzing the leaked information about the project "Cortege".
“Naturally, vehicles of this level have an armored capsule, communication and special communications systems, multimedia systems, means of protection against eavesdropping and interception of communications, evacuation systems, electronic and power defense, as well as all sorts of special “gadgets.” Tires that operate even after heavy shelling , a system of disks on which the limousine can drive without tires, a special gas tank,” says the man who had a hand in the creation of Soviet and post-Soviet limousines for the country’s leadership.
He added that even without the territory cleared by the FSO and security vehicles, “which does not happen in reality,” those in the limousine “must fully meet the appearance of a hostile helicopter, drone, grenade and machine gunners.
Of course, he did not disclose the specifications of the “Cortege” project, as well as the details of booking the presidential limousine, special communication systems and other subtleties.
“The exact information about the design of the “armored cars” is kept in the strictest confidence. Each car is assembled according to a special order, but it is known that the car is equipped with special tires that allow it to continue driving despite punctures,” experts write.
"Self-sealing fuel tank and an automatic fire extinguishing system. “As experts note, the limousine has cylinders with air reserves, which will allow it to withstand a gas attack, hidden loopholes, and compartments for storing a variety of weapons,” they add.
Some experts even report that " American car President's is good if you have a little trouble, but ours is ready for war." They explain that "passengers in a car can survive a small nuclear explosion, but at a certain distance."
“It will be power, greatness, strength, technology and safety - probably these words can describe the lead limousine of the Cortege,” shared one of the participants in the development of the Cortege project, adding “any more detailed description is a violation of state secrets.
“The FSO and GON must receive the cars of the “Cortege” project in advance for their development, for training all drivers, security - each presidential limousine or minibus has its own dynamics, acceleration, weight, skidding, and behavior on the road. Every moment must be taken into account for a comfortable and safe passage of routes, in case of emergency, and so on,” he explained. “Of course, maybe someone will leak the idea of the Cortege project to the media in 2016, it will appear in the media and will be discussed - but no one will know the “filling” for sure.”
Putin was shown his new VIP limousine "Cortege". A batch of such cars should be at the disposal of the FSO by the end of 2017.
Russian President Vladimir Putin got acquainted with the newest limousine for senior state officials, developed as part of Russian project“Cortege,” writes Izvestia, citing a statement by the Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov. According to him, the result of the work of domestic developers satisfied the country's leader.
Putin tested “prototype A” - a batch of just such cars should be available Federal service protection until the end of 2017. They didn’t have time to show him “Prototype B”.
The “Cortege” project has been implemented in Russia since 2012. He intkbbee involves the creation model range cars executive class- limousine, sedan, SUV, minivan - for senior government officials. The “debut drive” of these cars is scheduled to take place at the presidential inauguration after the 2018 elections.
Photo: RIA Novosti / Sergey Subbotin and NAMI
The Central Research Automotive and Automotive Industry took part in the development of the project. Automotive Institute"US". Its site will be able to produce up to 300 cars per year. At the same time, in the future, VIP cars are planned to be made available to other citizens - mass production will be launched in 2018-2019. In 2016, 3.7 billion rubles were allocated for the implementation of the Cortege project.
The project to create a limousine for Putin, codenamed “Cortege,” started in 2012. At the initiative of the president, it is planned to create several models of cars for the needs of the Russian government, namely a limousine, a sedan, a minibus and an SUV for the security service (FSO).
President Putin's armored limousine will weigh as much as six tons. The new car is planned to be equipped with a V8 engine with a power of 800 l/s. At first, engines will be purchased from Porsche, the engine capacity is 4.6 liters. The developers plan to produce domestic engines.
Car design
The appearance of the limousine for Putin from “Cortege” remains classified for now, but there are many photographs of the possible design of the car on the Internet. Journalists stated that the interior had already been demonstrated to potential buyers who were interested in purchasing the new product. These included not only civil servants, but also successful businessmen, as well as top managers large companies. Millionaires liked the interior of the new domestic limousine for Putin. After getting acquainted, the exhibition participants came to the consensus that the car was assembled with high quality, and the finishing made of expensive materials would appeal to connoisseurs of luxury. In addition, the design of the new vehicle is modern and attractive.
First assembled cars have already passed crash tests abroad, as a result of which the prototypes earned maximum ratings for the safety of passengers and the driver inside.
Car developers
The NAMI Automotive and Automotive Institute took on the development of a unique limousine for Putin. Separate developments are also being carried out at the Porsche plant, where production is planned power units For Russian cars executive class.
Project cost and serial production date
A limousine for Putin cost taxpayers 3.6 billion rubles in 2015; in 2016, another 3.7 billion rubles were allocated from the budget.
The NAMI Institute plans to assemble 200 units of cars on its own already in the current 2017, then the UAZ and Ford factories will be engaged in production. All foreign manufacturers will produce parts for the limousine exclusively in our country. Not long ago, journalists learned that bus factory LiAZ, which is located in the town of Likino-Dulyovo near Moscow, will participate in the production of a limousine for Putin.
The first production cars in the amount of 16 are promised to be sent to FSO employees for testing at the end of 2017, and already in 2018 the new cars will take part in the inauguration ceremony of the newly elected President of Russia.
Sale of cars from “Cortege” to ordinary citizens
As stated by this moment holds the post of Minister of Industry and Trade, Mass Production Russian limousines for Putin is planned for 2018-2019. After 5 years, it is planned to establish production in such a way that 1 thousand Russian luxury cars will come off the assembly line annually. They will be intended for citizens who can afford to buy such expensive equipment.
Vladimir Putin tested a domestic limousine
The head of state was presented presidential limousine Russian production. After the trip, Vladimir Putin was pleased. The president was not able to see the second prototype (an SUV), since its development was forced to be suspended due to lack of funds. The management decided to direct all efforts and cash flows into creating a limousine, minivan and sedan. Whether a jeep from the NAMI Institute will ever leave the factory assembly line remains a mystery.
Russian-assembled limousine engine
In 2017, at the Moscow exhibition on the territory of NAMI, a 6.6-liter V12 engine was demonstrated, which is capable of developing power up to 860 hp. s., while the torque is 1300 Nm. To develop such power, 4 turbines were installed on it! Dimensions of this powerful engine impressive - 935 x 813 x 860 mm.
Note that the engine torque will subsequently be reduced to 1 thousand Nm, since the domestic one developed by NAMI engineers as part of the Cortege project automatic transmission gears will not withstand greater load.
MOSCOW, July 6 – RIA Novosti. Vladimir Putin tested the newest Russian car executive class, which is being developed as part of the “Cortege” project. According to presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, the head of state personally rode a prototype of the future limousine.
The President was pleased
The head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Denis Manturov, told Izvestia that the president personally inspected the Cortege.
“Vladimir Putin has already gotten acquainted with the project, seen its different stages. He even drove “prototype A,” but we didn’t have time to show “prototype B,” the minister noted.
According to the official, the result of the work of domestic developers satisfied the president.
Manturov added that the president tested “prototype A” - a batch of just such vehicles should be at the disposal of the FSO by the end of 2017. Testing of cars for reliability and safety will last until the spring of 2018.
There was no testing
At the same time, the Kremlin denied reports from some media outlets that reported that Putin personally tested the Cortezh.
“No, he didn’t drive the prototype. He drove it, drove it a little, but didn’t drive it,” Peskov said.
Last Tuesday, Denis Manturov denied media reports about the curtailment of funding for the “Cortege” project.
“I didn’t even understand who said this. Everything is according to plan, work is going on,” the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade told RIA Novosti.
Then the official explained that the prototype of the new car will be delivered in 2018, and full production will begin in 2019. According to the minister, the president elected in 2018 will arrive at the ceremony in a new car.
What is a "Cortege"
Work on the “Cortege” project started in 2012. It is planned that four types of cars will be created: limousine, sedan, crossover and minibus.
The development of the new car is being carried out by employees of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Research automobile institute" (NAMI). By the way, the project itself is not called “Cortege” (as journalists called it), but “Unified Modular Platform” (UMP).
It is planned that new car will serve not only the president, but also other senior Russian officials.
According to open data, foreign partners are also involved in the project: Porsche Engineering developed one of the two engines that will be equipped with the cars, and Bosch Engineering.
Employees of "Russian" are working on the design of new cars. automotive design", one of the divisions of NAMI. There are several options appearance"Cortege", but the final decision has not yet been made.
The media is also discussing the assembly location of the “Cortege”. In 2014, the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade announced that crossovers would be assembled at UAZ facilities in Ulyanovsk. As for limousines, their production, according to journalists, will be carried out by the LiAZ bus plant in the Orekhovo-Zuevsky district of the Moscow region (owned by the GAZ group) and at KamAZ in Naberezhnye Chelny.
Not only for top officials
In April last year, Manturov said that the cars of the “Cortege” project would be supplied not only to officials. Thus, the military showed interest in the new machines.
“We are planning to start deliveries to the Ministry of Defense, but this will be on the basis of an SUV (SUV is an off-road vehicle of the Cortege project. - Ed.),” Manturov said.
According to the minister, we are talking about a light armored vehicle.
At the same time, Manturov said that by 2020 the Ministry of Industry and Trade expects to reach an annual production of up to five thousand vehicles of the Cortege project of all types.
"Five" for safety
The Ministry of Industry and Trade wants to increase the production of vehicles of the "Cortege" project by 2020By 2020, 4-5 thousand units of cars of all types will be produced in Russia - limousines, sedans, SUVs and minivans, Denis Manturov, head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, told RIA Novosti.The Cortege passed crash tests, traditional for all new cars, last year. At the beginning of June the car was tested in Berlin.
"This is a frontal crash test, there are different tests, some with overlap, some with side impacts, some with a rear impact. This is a whole series of tests in accordance with world standards. The first attempt, on the first test of the frontal crash test - the highest score," — said Alexey Borovkov, Vice-Rector for Prospective Projects of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University.
What do presidents drive?
Heads of state traditionally drive luxury cars. Some countries buy cars abroad, and some prefer the national automobile industry.
For example, Chinese leader Xi Jinping uses the FAW Hong Qi HQE, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe uses the Toyota Century.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel also prefers “her” car - the Audi A8. True, her car is very different from the serial ones - an armored one was created for the politician vehicle, and the thickness of the glass is almost five centimeters. As a result, the sedan can withstand shots from firearms and a grenade explosion under the bottom.
Standing apart is the limousine of US President Donald Trump, which received the nickname “The Beast”. The vehicle weighs more than eight tons, it has 20-centimeter door armor and 12-centimeter window armor.
The car, which costs $1.2 million, is capable of withstanding direct shots from large-caliber weapons.
Last week m Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov said that a limousine from the “Cortege” project will take part in the inauguration of the head of state next year.
According to him, Russian President Vladimir Putin has already tested the limousine of the “Cortege” project and was pleased with the work of Russian automakers.
“He has already gotten acquainted with the project, seen its different stages. He even drove the “prototype A,” but we didn’t have time to show the “prototype B,” the minister said. Manturovdid not specify when exactly the testing took place, but said that the car satisfied the country’s leader. The first cars of the "Cortege" series ("prototype A") should be received by employees of the Federal Security Service - by the end of 2017.
Immediately after Manturov’s words, the president’s press secretary denied.
The president saw these sketches, let’s say a prototype, and really liked them, but, of course, it’s too early to talk about testing,” said Dmitry Peskov.
Later, the president himself spoke on this topic. During a speech at a press conference following the G20 summit, Putin was asked about his plans to use the newest car executive class "Cortege" at the presidential inauguration ceremony in 2018. However, in response to a provocative question from journalists, Putin joked that there was no such desire, because it was impossible to drive an unfinished car.
No, it hasn’t arisen yet, because she’s not ready yet. Do you yourself drive a car that is not yet ready? And then, when you ride, then I will see how it happens, and together with you we will test it,” the Russian leader answered.
Seven long years
It would be useful to recall the very history of the idea of "Cortege". The discussion on the topic of a domestic limousine for top officials began with an open letter from the editor-in-chief of the Autoreview magazine Mikhail Podorozhansky in May 2010, in which he called on the then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to change seats with German car for the special series limousine remaining with ZIL.
No one was moved anywhere. But since 2011, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has been actively involved in the work to create the future presidential limousine.
It is logical that the first thing that came to mind was to remake the legendary ZIL for the government establishment. The plant of the same name still had small capacities and several cars with spare parts. For a plant that was on its last legs, this would be a salvation. By that time, truck production had practically stalled, and the supposed foreign partners from Foton and Tata could not find a common language with the owner, the Moscow government.
By the end of 2011, the plant exhibited finished car- project "Monolith" (ZIL-4112R). It couldn’t be called a new product: in fact, it was a slightly modernized version of Gorbachev’s canonical ZIL-41047.
In 2012, after Vladimir Putin became head of state, this project dropped out of the list of contenders for the title of Russia's first car.
At the same time, GAZ Group also proposed its project. Head of the plant Boo Andersson proposed to the Ministry of Industry and Trade a rather simple solution: complete borrowing of the technical basis of the machine with production in Russia of a minimum number body parts. The objects of borrowing were considered large sedans format Bentley Continental Flying Spur and Volkswagen Phaeton. At GAZ they were only going to correct the appearance in order to visually distance themselves from the “donor”.
The project did not require large investments: GAZ would have to pay royalties and pay the cost of parts to the original supplier. Along with GAZ, in 2013, she tried to gain access to Cortezh. Marussia company(now bankrupt first Russian manufacturer sports cars).
All these projects never found proper support from officials: firstly, they did not involve the development of a new one, but either a return to the “Brezhnev-era members” or simply copying foreign models.
The development of a limousine for the president was transferred to the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Central Research and Automotive Institute NAMI".
Right off the bat for 8 billion
NAMI focused on the fact that we were talking about creating Russian technologies for Russia - united modular platform, engines and units for it, on which more affordable commercial analogues of state vehicles will be built. Civil versions, according to the institute’s idea, they were supposed to recoup all investments within a short period of time. It was NAMI who outlined model line"Cortege" in the form of a limousine, large sedan, SUV and minivan.
In December 2014, “Cortege” came to the stage when it was necessary to decide on a key partner. Among the candidates for the location of assembly production were UAZ (part of the Sollers group), KamAZ and AvtoVAZ.
Soon Manturov announced Sollers as the winner - according to him, it was there that full-scale production of all models would be organized.
“It will be an SUV, a minibus, a sedan, and a limousine with the participation of Russian Technologies and Rosavto, which will essentially be the main business partners from the state, ensuring the subsequent development of this project,” the minister said.Almost simultaneously with this statement, the Ministry of Industry and Trade placed an order for the design and launch of production domestic cars for top officials of the state. The maximum order value was 8.051 billion rubles.
However, already in 2016, a message appeared that the Sollers company refused to participate in the project.
By this time, several samples of A-series sedans had been built, which were tested at the Dmitrov test site. Information also appeared that the car will be assembled by US.
As Life wrote earlier, the assembly of the Cortege vehicles will be established in the workshops of the Experimental Structures Plant (ZOK) NAMI, located in Moscow on Avtoremontnaya Street.
According to the latest data, the LiAZ bus plant, located in Likino-Dulyovo near Moscow, will also be one of the sites for the production of cars of the Cortege project. This enterprise is part of the Russian Buses holding, owned by GAZ Group. At the Moscow plant, Cortezh cars will undergo pre-painting preparation of their bodies: phosphating, cataphoresis priming, application of sealing and anti-noise mastic. The painting itself will be done in OUR ZOK.
It was decided to carry out preparations for painting at the LiAZ plant due to the fact that the enterprise has a bath of sufficient size for applying cataphoresis coating by immersion, capable of containing the body of a presidential limousine.
Is it Russian?
Unlike the famous ZILs and Chaikas, the current presidential limousine can hardly be called Russian in pure form. As Life previously reported, the main developer and supplier of components for the Cortege could be the Austrian Magna.
The choice of Magna seems no coincidence; this company has a long-standing relationship with Russian auto industry. In 2006–2009, Magna, at the request of the Russian Technologies State Concern, created a project for a C-class car for AvtoVAZ. Then the sum of developments could not be implemented, but five years later these technologies formed the basis of R&D Lada Vesta, a recent bright new product from AvtoVAZ.
A whole group of other Austrian companies will also take an equally significant part in the development of parts. Rubig will supply crankshafts, connecting rods, gears, heads, engine blocks and others complex parts; Zörkler produces particularly precise transmission gears.
From the very beginning of the "Cortege" one of the acute problems was the engine and transmission. In 2014, the Porsche engineering division was hired for these purposes. In addition to participating in the creation of the engine, Porsche provides strategic solutions to adapt the amount of developments to specific technical requirements project.
The head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Manturov, admitted that by 2018 the planned volume of the first batch of “Cortege” will not exceed 200 vehicles. According to the minister, serial production production of "Cortege" cars will be established only if commercial orders appear from private owners. The ministry says that by 2020 production will reach 4-5 thousand cars per year.
However, it’s already hard to believe that we will see production within the announced time frame. production car, but perhaps the responsible officials and performers will please at least the president with the finished product.
