A number of Aurus sedans, the new Russian luxury armored car, were taken for a spin during an annual event staged by the presidential driving team. The black cars raced in snowy fields with their lights flashing outside Moscow.

The event is a competition featuring the most skilled drivers of the Federal Guard Service (FSO), who are tasked with protecting Russia’s top politicians, including President Vladimir Putin. The drivers showed off their skills, drifting in the snowy terrain, taking sharp turns and generally letting go after spending the rest of the year driving carefully with high-profile passengers in the back. 

Among the other special, bulletproof vehicles, two Aurus-brand cars were spotted at the event. These are the sedans used by Putin’s guards – although the top man himself did not appear at the competition.

The Russian-made Auruses joined the presidential stable last year, and Putin has been showing off his limo on domestic and foreign high-profile trips since then.

The car has been designed specifically to meet the needs of Russia’s top leaders – in terms of protection and reliability – although it is about to hit the market for the general – sufficiently well-off – public. Earlier this week, that dealers of the Aurus brand began taking pre-orders, both for the car’s sedan and limo models.