The GAZ-13 Chaika (Seagull) is an

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded ...

manufactured by the Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod ( GAZ, Gorky Automobile Plant) from 1959 to 1981 as a generation of its Chaika marque. It is famously noted for its styling which resembled 1950s Packard automobiles.

History

The GAZ-13 Chaika debuted in 1958. It was produced from 1959 to 1981, with 3,179 built in all. The GAZ-13 was powered by a 195-hp SAE gross 5.5 L V8 with a 4-brl carburetor called the ZMZ-13, a modified version of which with a reduced compression ratio and smaller 2-brl carburetor would be used on the GAZ-53 truck, along with other parts of the Chaika. and driven through a push-button

automatic transmission An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission (mechanics), transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gea ...

of a similar design to the

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automot ...

PowerFlite unit. It was offered as a saloon (GAZ-13),

limousine A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment. A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a pro ...

(GAZ-13A), and four-door cabriolet (GAZ-13B) with an electrohydraulic top. The cabriolet was made in 1961 and 1962 for official parades. RAF in Riga produced the GAZ-13A Universal, an

estate Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representat ...

, in the 1960s in Riga; this was also built as the GAZ-13S

ambulance An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...

, as well as a

hearse A hearse is a large vehicle, originally a horse carriage but later with the introduction of motor vehicles, a car, used to carry the body of a deceased person in a coffin at a funeral, wake, or memorial service. They range from deliberately a ...

. Produced for a few years in the 1960s, it is the lowest-volume Chaika variant. Small numbers were also built for

Mosfilm Mosfilm (russian: Мосфильм, ''Mosfil’m'' ) is a film studio which is among the largest and oldest in the Russian Federation and in Europe. Founded in 1924 in the USSR as a production unit of that nation's film monopoly, its output inclu ...

. As a limousine-class car, Chaikas were available only to the Soviet government, and could not be purchased by average citizens. However, citizens were allowed to rent Chaikas for weddings. Chaikas were used by Soviet ambassadors and

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

First Secretaries in East Germany, North Korea, Bulgaria, Hungary, Mongolia, and Finland, among others;

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 2 ...

was given one by General Secretary

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev ...

, who himself preferred the Chaika to his ZIL, and kept one at his summer

dacha A dacha ( rus, дача, p=ˈdatɕə, a=ru-dacha.ogg) is a seasonal or year-round second home, often located in the exurbs of post-Soviet countries, including Russia. A cottage (, ') or shack serving as a family's main or only home, or an out ...

. He also presented one limousine version each to both King Sisavang Vatthana of Laos and Prime Minister, Prince

Norodom Sihanouk Norodom Sihanouk (; km, នរោត្តម សីហនុ, ; 31 October 192215 October 2012) was a Cambodian statesman, Sangkum and FUNCINPEC politician, film director, and composer who led Cambodia in various capacities throughout hi ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

on their visits to the Soviet Union. For their larger size and more powerful V8, Chaikas were also ordered in some quantity by the KGB. Top speed was . Most Chaikas were saloons. The GAZ-13B was built for only two years 1961 and 1962. The GAZ-13 was discontinued in 1981. The GAZ-14 debuted in 1977,Thompson, p.70. and ran to the end of Chaika production in 1988. Pyotr Masherov was killed when being transported in a Chaika after being rammed by a GAZ-53 truck carrying potatoes. File:Tschaika (7906329546).jpg, Front view File:GAZ-13 Chaika during the Oldtimer Show 2008.jpg, Rear view. Notice the tailpipe integrated in the rear bumper as well as the late-1950s American-style tailfins. File:GAZ-13 Chaika during the Oldtimer Expo 2008.jpg, Sedan version File:GAZ 13B Chaika (1968) 1X7A8082.jpg, Cabriolet File:Flickr - Hugo90 - GAZ Chaika.jpg, GAZ logo File:Chaika car interior.JPG, GAZ-13 interior

References

{{GAZ timeline 1960-present Cars of Russia GAZ Group vehicles Soviet automobiles Cars introduced in 1959