On its basis, the NAMI scientific institute (the main shareholder, owned by the state) designs, tests, and produces luxury cars.

Since 2019, Aurus has shifted into the designing of motorcycles. The company’s first development was Aurus Merlon, an electric motorcycle designed to escort senior officials and government motorcades. The word “merlon” comes from the Middle Ages. It means a scar in the fortress wall, behind which the soldiers defending the fortress hid from arrows and cannonballs.

Currently, it exists only as a prototype and is being tested privately. Based on the results of these tests, Aurus will postpone the start date of the motorcycle mass production if design flaws are identified. As the company representatives said at the Yekaterinburg INNOPROM exhibition, held in July 2022, it is planned to be mass-produced in the future.

Aurus Merlon side view
Aurus Merlon side view

The motorcycle will be assembled at the Ford plant located in the city of Yelabuga, located in the Republic of Tatarstan, mainly from components created by NAMI, including, for example:

  • Thermostat;
  • Frame;
  • High voltage battery;
  • External panels;
  • Motorcycle electrical control system.

As for the technical characteristics of the Aurus Merlon, it is now known that the bike:

  1. Is equipped with a 140 kW engine equivalent to 190 HP.
  2. Is able to accelerate to 100 km in 3.7 seconds.
  3. Has a maximum speed of 200 km/h.
  4. Can drive up to 200 km on one full charge.
  5. Has a torque of up to 350 N-m.
  6. Has reverse gear.
  7. Is equipped with a heated seat and handles, as well as ABS and traction control.
  8. Is equipped with a touch-control dashboard.

 

Representatives of Aurus emphasize that their bike was designed for use in northern countries. Without loss of driving performance, an electric motorcycle can be used at temperatures from +40 to -25 degrees Celsius.

Of the drawbacks is the complete lack of information about the battery charging time. Naturally, it will turn off a share of potential buyers. Who wants to buy a cat in a sack? The only thing we know for now is that there is a fast charging feature.

The second drawback for the biker’s world is the not-really-cool steering with generally a very decent design, made in black. Probably, for the government motorcades escort prototype, the designers did not bother much with the shape of the steering. Hopefully, they will come up with something nicer for the civilian version.

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