8 cars from the Soviet era that hardly anyone knows about

USSR cars and the former Iron Curtain. Russia is once again in the limelight due to the expansionist policies of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, who intends to recover the splendor of the disappeared USSR based on invasions –”special operations”, in the official Russian jargon– such as the one Ukraine is suffering.

Now that non-Russian car brands – including factories – have ceased operations and the Moscow government has brought back forgotten brands like Moskvitch, it’s time to dig into a bit of history, review the link between the car and former USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics).

In this sense, it must be remembered that until its dissolution in 1991, the USSR produced more than 2 million vehicles a year, including cars, trucks and buses.

In addition, it exported up to 400,000 vehicles a year to countries that belonged to the orbit of the Soviet Union (countries belonging to the Warsaw Pact – the equivalent of NATO in the Iron Curtain countries).

It should be noted that in addition to the well-known AutoVaz (manufacturer of Lada), in this mixed bag of cars from the USSR and the orbit of satellite countries, brands such as the Armenian ErAZ, KiAZ (from Azerbaijan), MoAZ and Neman (Belarus) were included. ), ToARZ (Estonia), KAZ (Georgia), KAG (Lithuania) or LuAZ (Ukraine), among many others.

But we must not forget that the German Democratic Republic (GDR), a kind of euphemism to name the communist section after the partition of Germany into four sectors after World War II, also made its first steps in this regard.

And we are not only referring to Trabant and Wartburg, but also to Melkus, a sports car brand founded by the pilot Heinz Melkus and with which we open this review of the 8 Soviet-era cars that not everyone knows.

1. Melkus 1000 RS: sporty it seems…

It is a species of gull wings, and it was known as the “Ferrari of the East”, which was saying a lot. The Melkus, East Germany’s only sports car, was “powered” (if you can call it that) by a mid-mounted 3-cylinder 2-stroke Wartburg engine.

Most of the manufactured units of the Melkus RS mounted the 992 cc version (with which this sports car reached a maximum speed of 175 km/h), but some of the later cars had 1,200 cc.

Melkus produced 101 units of the RS1000 between 1969 and 1979 at the factory in Dresden, East Germany.

The firm is currently bankrupt, but one of its vehicles will live on forever in the music video for ‘Around the World’ by music group ATC 2000.

2. ZIL-117 – a stylish sedan

The ZIL-117 was a luxury sedan – by the standards of the communist paradigm – or rather a Soviet limousine due to its size.

The ZIL car was first presented at the Autopron (forerunner of the Moscow International Motor Show) in 1977.

This Soviet limousine was not intended for ordinary workers and comrades, as it mounted a 6.9-liter V8 engine under its hood that ensured a maximum speed of between 190 and 201 km/h. There is nothing!

As for its design, the ZIL-117 stood out for its elegant silhouette –why not admit it– and modern lines for the time that had nothing to envy to American sedans.

Although the production of ZIL117 was quite limited, this car became very popular with model car manufacturers. One appeared in the 2006 James Bond movie Casino Royale.

3. Tatra 603: the Czech rounded icon

Tatra, not to be confused with the Indian Tata, owner of Jaguar Land Rover.

The rear-engined Tatra 603 was manufactured in the former Czechoslovakia (since 1992 they are two separate countries: Czechia and Slovakia), where it could only be driven by high-ranking Communist Party officials and factory managers, the elites of the time.

Between 1956 and 1975, three versions of the Tatra 603 were built in succession. However, as it happened that older models were returned to the factory to be replaced by newer models, the older versions were disassembled and rebuilt with renewed style.

Which shows that the concept of circular economy (reuse, recovery and recycling) was already being implemented in those times… without being aware of it.

As a result, most Tatra 603s feature a more modern design, regardless of their original production date. During the car’s 20 years of production, 20,422 units were built, most of them assembled by hand.

Be that as it may, whoever signs these lines has been able to see live and direct a unit of the Tatra 603 and has a line that is at least suggestive. For curves it will not be…

4. Volga GAZ-21: Soviet luxury

When I wrote about the Moksvitch a few weeks ago, I already mentioned the GAZ brand.

The GAZ-21 was the first car to bear the Volga name when it was developed in the early 1950s. While similarly designed Western cars tended to have a low, long profile, the GAZ-21, on the contrary , had a lot of height, which gave it a distinctive appearance.

In addition to its unusual height, the GAZ-21 incorporated a suspension system capable of swallowing everything and supporting carts and carts, a powerful engine and anti-corrosion protection unheard of for the time.

When the production of 6-cylinder GAZ cars was discontinued in 1959, the 21 became the largest and most luxurious car officially sold to individual owners in the USSR.

5. SMZ: microcar for the disabled

The SMZ microcar was made in Russia specifically for disabled drivers, despite its somewhat martial-looking design. It was a small two-seater.

SMZ was distributed in the USSR for free or at a significant discount through the social welfare system of the Soviet Union. Notably, the SMZ was not officially available to able-bodied buyers.

After five years of use, the renter had to return his motorized wheelchair (as they were commonly known) to a social care organization and a new one was issued.

Today they are quite a rarity, particularly the early models, and have become a collector’s item.

6. UAZ 469: an off-roader nicknamed ‘goat’

The UAZ brand (Uliánovsk Automobile Plant, Spanish translation of these acronyms), is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in Russia. UAZ is specialized in off-road and military transport vehicles. Its headquarters and base is located in Ulyanovsk (Russia), from where it exports off-road campers, buses and some truck models.

One of the most iconic models of this brand is the UAZ 469 (nicknamed ‘Goat’, for its enormous grip capacity and access to difficult areas) is an off-road vehicle used by the Soviet forces and paramilitary units in the countries of the Block of the East.

Derived from and based on the UAZ 469 came the UAZ 3907 Jaguar, an amphibious based vehicle. Introduced in 1971, the legendary vehicle was not available for purchase by the public (although many were sold as surplus to private owners).

The amphibious UAZ 469 had two propellers at the front of the rear axle that allowed the vehicle to cross water as well as being able to move over all kinds of land areas.

7. UAZ 451 ‘Bukhanka’: off-road van

Given the success of the UAZ 450, a kind of off-road van, nicknamed Bukhanka (loaf of bread, in Spanish, for its aesthetic appearance) in 1961, the brand plans to build an improved version with connectable traction, the UAZ 451, already with a definitive aesthetic.

For the production of the UAZ 451, new production lines were built, which have remained in operation to this day. The first units left the assembly line in December of the same year.

In 1965, the UAZ 452 was put into production, which was nothing more than an improved version of the 1958 model, with 4×4 drive.

The engine comes from the Volga GAZ-21. And the flat chassis originates from the GAZ-69, which is also shared with the UAZ 469/Hunter.

8. ZIS 101A Sport: the Russian Morgan

Built on the chassis of a seven-seater limousine, the unique ZIS 101A Sport was built in 1939. It bore a more than reasonable resemblance to the early Morgans, with a touch of Jaguar.

Before its launch, there was the ZIS 101 (with an eight-cylinder in-line engine with a displacement of 5.8 liters and a maximum speed of 115 km/h) and the ZIS 101A (with an improved engine that reached 130 km/h).

The two-seater ZIS 101A Sport was designed by Valentin Nikolaevich Rostkov in 1939, with an improved version of the 101A engine.

Although Josef Stalin personally approved it to honor the 20th anniversary of the Komsomol (the youth division of the Communist Party), the car was considered useless and was quickly forgotten after the celebration. A pity, because the car, at least aesthetically, promised a lot.