As Russian President Vladimir Putin attempts to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, away from the public glare the head of state has been quietly working on an engineering project to create a new Russian-built limousine for him and the country's top officials. Dubbed Project Cortege, the program is being developed by several Russian carmakers with help from Porsche Engineering.

The presidential limousine is the top priority, but Putin expects the project to spawn other vehicles including an SUV and van. Russian media has posted a few pictures of the design concept, which has a more than passing resemblance to British stalwarts Bentley and Rolls-Royce, as well as having the country's seal proudly emblazoned all over it. Putin has reportedly sunk up to $400 million of government funds into the project, with prototypes to begin testing early this year.