Motoring: Stars of the Soviet era

The cars of the former East Bloc had their own charm, but Jehanbaz Ali Khan says those from Russia are a breed apart.

There is a growing interest amongst collectors and owners of classic cars in models from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries. Surprisingly, there were, and in many cases still are, many different brand names available in the old USSR and Russia today.

Perhaps, the most well-known are the Lada and Moskvitch brands as they were being exported from the Soviet Union during the 70s and 80s in search of hard currency to fund the country's space exploration programmes.

The 'stars' of the former East Germany were the Trabant and Wartburg cars and good examples of these cars still demand high prices in the classic car community, especially in Western Europe.
Poland is well-known for the Polski-Fiat.

This model was the result of a co-operation between Poland and Italy when the FIAT company sold the outdated Fiat 124 body presses and other production machinery to a company in Poland.

Romania has had a vibrant local automobile industry for many years with the most familiar brands being Dacia (still being exported in sedan and van forms), ARO (perhaps best known as an inexpensive 4x4 vehicle) and Oltcit.

Serbia, in the former Yugoslavia, is the home of Yugo automobiles that have affectionately been referred to, in the past, as the 'cutting edge of Serbo-Croat technology'!

However, Russia is the source of an amazing number of different brands, apart from Lada and Moskvitch. Aficionados of Iron Curtain spy movies will recognise the ZIL sedan as the vehicle used by Stalin and members of the Politburo.

The ZIL brand started out in 1933 as the ZIS standing for 'Zavod imeni Stalina' and its dedication to the tyrant Stalin was obvious. The ZIS 101 of 1936 was fitted with an 8-cylinder, in-line, 5.8-litre engine producing 90 bhp and the car had a top speed of 115km/hr (72 mph)

Another household name in Russia is GAZ, the manufacturers of the Volga brand of automobiles. The company was founded in the early 30s with the help of some American businessmen!

The agreement required the Americans to offer assistance in automobile technology development for the first five years of the programme. Not surprising, therefore, that many early GAZ models were virtually clones of American models.

GAZ also developed the 4x4 workhorse vehicle of the Red Army. Production started in 1938 and during the next seven years GAZ updated and modernised its 'jeep' until it was recognised as being a better off-road performer than its American army counterpart.

It was not without problems, however, as the brakes were very poor and difficult to repair. Fuel consumption was also a major concern for the commanders in the battlefields as it used half a litre of fuel for every kilometre driven! One of the early modifications was the fitting of a large extra fuel tank under the driver's seat.

By the late 50's the GAZ 4x4 '69' - known as 'Kozlov' meaning 'goat' - was a relatively sophisticated part-time 4x4 vehicle with a fuel capacity of 75 litres, 4-speed transmission and limited slip rear differential. There was also an amphibious version made that could cruise at a maximum speed of 9km/hr when afloat.

The Goat saw active service in many regions, including Afghanistan, when the country was invaded by the USSR. In fact, many were still found to be in active service when the Americans launched their assault on the Taliban regime in Afghanistan a few years ago.

The first car from GAZ bearing the Volga brand name was launched in 1956. The feared KGB used Volgas from GAZ equipped with V8 engines borrowed from the Tchaika limousine and if you had ever been woken up in the middle of the night and asked to accompany the KGB to their HQ in Red Square your transport is likely to have been a V8 GAZ Volga!

In the past 47 years the Volga brand has become the car Russian people would most like to own assuming they do not have access to funds to buy a Mercedes Benz or other Western car!

Volga cars have been regularly updated over the years and represent some of the better examples of modern Russian automotive products and are on a par with imported models.

The Lada Niva is, perhaps, the most well-known and recognisable Russian model due to its export from the Mother country all over the world. The Lada brand is better known in Russia as VAZ (Volzhsy Automobilny Zavod) and the company has the largest production of between 600,000 and 700,090 vehicles per year.

Lada is also the market leader in the Russian sales league with its models that are mostly of Fiat origin. Lada-VAZ was founded only in 1966 and the VAZ plant has 270 kms of production lines and employs over 180,000 people! At a time when the global automobile industry has undergone a series of mergers, takeovers and even closures, it is an anachronism that the Russian automobile industry still has so many different brands competing in the domestic market.

Russian cars still have major quality improvements to make if they are to compete on a level playing field with the rest of the world but who can say it will not happen. If a country can put a man on the moon then who can say it cannot compete in the global auto industry!

In the meantime, there are literally hundreds of 'classic' car enthusiasts around the world, who are searching Russia, its former republics and Eastern Europe for examples of Russian, and East European, models that are either in pristine condition or are worthy of restoration.