Vladimir Putin unveils his motorcade escort motorcycle

DONALD Trump has ‘The Beast’, Boris Johnson has an armour-plated Jag’, and now Vladimir Putin has the Aurus Escort, an electric motorcycle fit for a presidential motorcade!

The bike, due for release in 2022, will join a fleet of four-wheeled Aurus models that will serve as the heavy protection to one of the planet’s most powerful leaders. Although all is not quite as it seems with the Aurus, as President Putin is going green – the Aurus Escort is electrically powered!

Details regarding the specification of the bike is currently unknown, although French website Moto-Station claims the bike will develop 150bhp and be good for 155mph. Aside from the fairly generic specs, we can clearly see the bike is built around a sturdy looking cast alloy frame, with the batteries nestling within the twin spars of the bike. Interestingly the front end looks to be a funky cantilever system, not dissimilar to the one seen on the latest generation Honda Gold Wing. Given the bike’s high-risk designation, it’s likely that those subframe-mounted panniers will carry some form of weaponry to help out should the motorcade come under attack.

Away from the specifics, the styling of the bike is, errr, typically Russian, with the masculine front end looking like it would scoop angry protestors out of the way rather well. Indeed, it is obvious that svelte aerodynamics were not top of the designer's agenda!

The fact that the Russian President has unveiled an electric motorcycle to join his motorcade may sound at odds with his countries standing as one of the biggest oil and natural gas producers, although with the nation looking to reduce production in the coming years, this could be a sign of things to come.