Zaporozhets
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

ZAZ Zaporozhets ( uk, Запоро́жець) was a series of rear-wheel-drive
supermini The B-segment is the second smallest of the European segments for passenger cars between the A-segment and C-segment, and commonly described as "small cars". The B-segment is the largest segment in Europe by volume, accounting for 20 percent of ...
s (
city car The A-segment is the 1st category in the passenger car classification system defined by the European Commission. It is used for city cars, the smallest category of passenger cars defined. A-segment sales represent approx. 7-8% of the market in ...
s in their first generation) designed and built from 1958 at the ZAZ factory in
Soviet Ukraine The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
. Different models of the Zaporozhets, all of which had an
air-cooled Air-cooled engines rely on the circulation of air directly over heat dissipation fins or hot areas of the engine to cool them in order to keep the engine within operating temperatures. In all combustion engines, a great percentage of the heat ge ...
engine in the rear, were produced until 1994. Since the late 1980s, the final series, 968M, was replaced by the cardinally different ZAZ-1102 Tavria
hatchback A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. ...
, which featured a front-wheel drive and a more powerful
water-cooled Cooling tower and water discharge of a nuclear power plant Water cooling is a method of heat removal from components and industrial equipment. Evaporative cooling using water is often more efficient than air cooling. Water is inexpensive and non ...
engine. The name ''Zaporozhets'' translates into a
Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
of the
Zaporizhian Sich The Zaporozhian Sich ( ua, Запорозька Січ, ; also uk, Вольностi Вiйська Запорозького Низового, ; Free lands of the Zaporozhian Host the Lower) was a semi-autonomous polity and proto-state of Cos ...
or а man from
Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Запоріжжя) or Zaporozhye (russian: Запорожье) is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zapor ...
or the
Zaporizhzhia Oblast Zaporizhzhia Oblast ( uk, Запорі́зька о́бласть, translit=Zaporizka oblast), also referred to as Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Запорі́жжя, links=no), is an oblast (province) of southeast Ukraine. Its capital is Zaporizhzhia. The ...
. Zaporozhets is still well known in many former
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
states. Like the
Volkswagen Beetle The Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in German (meaning "beetle"), in parts of the English-speaking world the Bug, and known by many other nicknames in other languages—is a two-door, rear-engine economy car, ...
or
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
's Trabant, the Zaporozhets was destined to become a "people's car" of the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, and as such it was the most affordable vehicle of its era. At the same time, it was rather sturdy and known for its excellent performance on poor roads. Another important advantage of the Zaporozhets was its ease of repair. The car's appearance gave birth to several nicknames that became well known across the Soviet Union: ''horbatyi'' (" hunchback", owing to ZAZ-965's
insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
-like form; although ZAZ factory workers never used this nicknameFIAT begins to produce Zaporozhets
), ''malysh'' ( en, Kiddy), ''ushastyi'' ("big- eared", due to 966 and 968's round
air intake An intake (also inlet) is an opening, structure or system through which a fluid is admitted to a space or machine as a consequence of a pressure differential between the outside and the inside. The pressure difference may be generated on the ins ...
s on each side of the car to cool the rear-mounted engine), ''zapor'' ("constipation"), ''mylnitsa'' ("soap-box", for ZAZ-968M, lacking "ears" and producing a more box-like appearance). Numerous special versions of the Zaporozhets were produced, equipped with additional sets of controls that allowed operating the car with a limited set of limbs, and were given for free or with considerable discounts to disabled people, especially war veterans - similar to SMZ-series microcars. These mobility cars would at times take up to 25% of ZAZ factory output.


First generation (1960-1969)


ZAZ-965

The ZAZ 965 was a
city car The A-segment is the 1st category in the passenger car classification system defined by the European Commission. It is used for city cars, the smallest category of passenger cars defined. A-segment sales represent approx. 7-8% of the market in ...
produced from 1960 to 1963. Design of a car accessible to the public, and one in part taking the place of the soon to be discontinued Moskvitch 401, began in 1956. Following the growing trend of
city cars The A-segment is the 1st category in the passenger car classification system defined by the European Commission. It is used for city cars, the smallest category of passenger cars defined. A-segment sales represent approx. 7-8% of the market in ...
(then accounting for between 25% and 40% of all
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an car sales), the minister in charge of '' Minavtroprom'' (the Soviet automotive ministry) Nikolay Strokin selected the new
Fiat 600 The Fiat 600 ( it, Seicento, ) is a rear-engine, water-cooled city car, manufactured and marketed by Fiat Automobiles, Fiat from 1955 to 1969 — offered in two-door fastback sedan and four-door Multipla mini MPV body styles. Measuring only ...
as the model to follow. However, despite being visually similar to the Fiat, the ZAZ was in fact a completely different car.''ZAZ-965/965A'', Avtolegendy SSSR Nr.17, DeAgostini 2009, , The first prototype, the Moskvich-444, was designed by
MZMA AZLK (''АЗЛК - Автомобильный завод имени Ленинского Комсомола'' in Russian language, Russian, Avtomobilny Zavod imeni Leninskogo Komsomola) Soviet and Russian automobile manufacturer (Moscow), the ma ...
in October 1957; it used the same glass for front and rear windows.Thompson, p. 89 Its ground clearance, on wheels, was . The prototype was first powered by a flat twin-cylinder MD-65 engine provided by the Irbitskiy Motorcycle Plant, which was "totally unsuited": it produced only and lasted only between major overhauls. As a result, a search for another engine was begun, and the success of the
VW Type 1 The Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in German (meaning "beetle"), in parts of the English-speaking world the Bug, and known by many other nicknames in other languages—is a two-door, rear-engine economy car, ...
's
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...
led to a preference for an
air-cooled Air-cooled engines rely on the circulation of air directly over heat dissipation fins or hot areas of the engine to cool them in order to keep the engine within operating temperatures. In all combustion engines, a great percentage of the heat ge ...
engine, which NAMI (the National Automobile Institute) had on the drawing board. ''Minavtroprom'', however, preferred a Thompson, p. 92 rear-mounted V4, the NAMI-G, which had the additional advantage of being developed for the LuAZ-967. As a result, it had characteristics not common for automobile engines, including a magnesium alloy engine block.Thompson, p. 90 (This engine, the MeMZ 965, would be built by the Melitopolski Motor Plant, MeMZ.) It had the drawback of needing to have the rear of the car redesigned to fit, as well as needing a new rear suspension. The influence of the LuAZ designers led to the introduction of
independent suspension Independent suspension is any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically (i.e. reacting to a bump on the road) independently of the others. This is contrasted with a beam axle or deDion axle system in w ...
on all four wheels. Its front doors open in a manner like suicide doors, partly to make it more accessible to the disabled. One of the primary differences was that the
engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...
, which featured a V4 layout in place of the
Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...
's inline-four, was air-cooled. The Zaporozhets also featured bigger wheels and front suspension on torsion bars. In 1958, the government ordered production of the car in the reformed ZAZ factory, under its final designation ZAZ-965. All further production of the car was carried out there. The new car was approved for production at the MeMZ factory 28 November 1958, changing the name to ZAZ (Zaporizhzhia Automobile Building Plant) to reflect the new profile. The Zaporizhzhia factory was supplemented with the Mikoyan Diesel-Building Factory in
Melitopol Melitopol ( uk, Меліто́поль, translit=Melitópol’, ; russian: Мелитополь; based on el, Μελιτόπολις - "honey city") is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Zaporizhz ...
, which was part of the ''Soyuzdiesel'' combinat. The first car, dubbed the ZAZ-965 Zaporozhets, was delivered 12 June 1959, was approved 25 July 1960, and entered production 25 October.''ZAZ-966 "Zaporozhets"'', Avtolegendy SSSR Nr.36, DeAgostini 2010, , The Zaporozhets was priced at 1,800 redenominated roubles. There was also a
car-derived van A panel van, also known as a blind van, car-derived van (United Kingdom) or sedan delivery (United States), is a small cargo vehicle with a passenger car Chassis#Vehicles, chassis, typically with a single front bench seat and no side windows beh ...
model for the Soviet post office, the 965S, with right-hand drive and blanked-off windows.Thompson, p. 200


ZAZ-965A

The 965A was an improvement on the 965 and was produced from November 1962 to May 1969. In total, 322,106 units of the 965 were produced. It was powered by a MeMZ 965 rear-mounted,
air-cooled Air-cooled engines rely on the circulation of air directly over heat dissipation fins or hot areas of the engine to cool them in order to keep the engine within operating temperatures. In all combustion engines, a great percentage of the heat ge ...
OHV An overhead valve (OHV) engine, sometimes called a ''pushrod engine'', is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier flathead engines, where the valves were located bel ...
V4 engine A V4 engine is a four-cylinder piston engine where the cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The V4 engine is less common compared to straight-four engines. However, V4 engines have been used in automobiles ...
, partially of aluminium design, producing . From November 1966 some cars were fitted with the slightly more powerful MeMZ-965A engine. The 965's modest engine output has given ground to an urban joke that it was used as a starter motor in Soviet
tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...
s. As Soviet drivers were expected to do much of the servicing themselves, and auto workshops were in short supply anyway, the engine's 90° V4 layout proved more practical, especially in harsh winter conditions. The higher centre of gravity of the engine also provided superior traction on steep slopes, though this advantage, which was also continued in later models, came at the expense of the car's infamous lack of cornering stability. The 965A also had its versions for the disabled (ZAZ-965B, AB, AR), as well as a more luxurious export variant ZAZ-965AE Yalta. Despite low prestige of those cars, they have shown an unbeaten accessibility and popularity among the Soviets, becoming the "car for pensioners and intellectuals". They were the cheapest Soviet-made cars. Quite a large number of them were produced in variants for disabled people, with modified steering. Between November 1966 and May 1969 the 965A and its successor, the ZAZ966, were produced concurrently.Thompson, p. 201 When production of the 965 ended, 322,116 had been built. The 965 also inspired the 1962 prototype NAMI 086, named ''
Sputnik Sputnik 1 (; see § Etymology) was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program. It sent a radio signal back to Earth for t ...
'' (Fellow Traveller), with a vee-twin (half an MeMZ 965), electromagnetic clutch and four-speed transmission. Fitted with four-wheel independent suspension and weighing just , intended for use by the disabled, it was never built.Thompson, p.203. The ZAZ KD of 1969 was also based on the 965, fitted with a
glassfibre Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...
body, giving it a weight of only 500 kg and a top speed of on just .Thompson, p. 205 It was never produced in quantity, either.


Second generation (1966-1994)


ZAZ-966

The second generation of the Zaporozhets was a series of
subcompact car Subcompact car is a North American classification for cars smaller than a compact car. It is broadly equivalent to the B-segment (Europe), supermini (Great Britain) or A0-class (China) classifications. According to the U.S. Environmental Prote ...
s, production starting of the 966 in November 1966, although the prototype was first demonstrated in 1961. It had a completely restyled bodywork (done entirely by ZAZ), no longer resembling the Fiat 600 and arguably similar to the
Chevrolet Corvair The Chevrolet Corvair is a compact car manufactured by Chevrolet for model years 1960–1969 in two generations. A response to the Volkswagen Beetle, it remains the only American-designed, mass-produced passenger car with a rear-mounted, air- ...
,
Hillman Imp The Hillman Imp is a small economy car that was made by the Rootes Group and its successor Chrysler Europe from 1963 until 1976. Revealed on 3 May 1963, after much advance publicity, it was the first British mass-produced car with the engine blo ...
or the NSU Prinz. This was an effort to cure some of the 965's issues, such as
torsion bar A torsion bar suspension, also known as a torsion spring suspension, is any vehicle suspension that uses a torsion bar as its main weight-bearing spring. One end of a long metal bar is attached firmly to the vehicle chassis; the opposite end termi ...
s that lost tension, suicide doors, and engine overheating and noise. The engine was the MeMZ 966A. A radio was standard equipment. The price had inched up, too, from 1,800 roubles at the 965's debut to 2,200 by 1969. While featuring a larger two-door
notchback A notchback is a design of a car with the rearmost section that is distinct from the passenger compartment and where the back of the passenger compartment is at an angle to the top of what is typically the rear baggage compartment. Notchback cars ...
saloon body, it still featured an air-cooled V4 engine and featured more prominent air intakes – the so-called "ears", although a decorative chrome
grille Grill or grille may refer to: Food * Barbecue grill, a device or surface used for cooking food, usually fuelled by gas or charcoal, or the part of a cooker that performs this function * Flattop grill, a cooking device often used in restaurants ...
was also present. The car's rear suspension was also replaced. The 966 started out as the simpler ZAZ-966V (ЗАЗ-966В in
Cyrillic , bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця , fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs , fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic , fam3 = Phoenician , fam4 = G ...
) with the engine from the 965A, which was also featured on all later models. Much like the 965A, the 966V was also produced in several special variants for the disabled (VR, VB, VB2 - until January 1973). It was produced in tandem with the 965 from November 1966 to May 1969. ZAZ launched an upgraded 966B in 1968, powered by a new MeMZ 968 V4, while the 966A-powered model became the 966-1 which was only ever produced in small numbers. The 966B, weighing in at , was heavier than the earlier model, but faster, reaching . The 966 was discontinued in 1972, with the introduction of the ZAZ 968. Nicknamed "Zapo" in the
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
, the 966 was also popular in Western Europe, including some Scandinavian countries and France. Some markets swapped the original engine for a
Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...
unit.


ZAZ-968

The ZAZ-968 and its modifications were produced from 1971 to 1980.''ZAZ-968A'', Avtolegendy SSSR Nr.4, DeAgostini 2008, , It featured the same MeMZ 968 V4 as the ZAZ 966, but the exterior design was slightly modernized. The most obvious alteration was replacing the fake chrome grille in the car's front with a horizontal chrome decoration. Among other changes was a less austere dashboard and better front brakes. The 968 was discontinued in 1978, having been produced simultaneously with the newer 968A since 1973, which was produced until 1980. It introduced new safety measures, including a new steering wheel and a plastic dashboard instead of the earlier metal one. The 968A also had its variants for the disabled (the ZAZ-968R, B, B2, AB, and AB2) with the engine. Toward the end of 1974, the up-market 968A debuted, surviving until 1979. Among its improvements was a padded dash, energy-absorbing (collapsing) steering column, and seats from the
VAZ-2101 The VAZ-2101 ''" Zhiguli"'', commonly nicknamed ''" Kopeyka"'' (for the smallest Soviet coin, 1/100 of the ''Ruble''), is a compact sedan car (''small class, passenger car, model 1'' in Soviet classification) produced by the Soviet manufacture ...
. The export 968E (destined mostly for the Eastern Bloc) had headlights modified to meet international standards, a safety glass windscreen, and an anti-theft steering lock.


ZAZ-968M

In 1979, the 968 series was replaced by the modernized 968M. Prototyped in 1977, it had the "ears" removed and replaced much of the chrome exterior with black plastic. Its interior design was also upgraded, featuring a closed-space
glove compartment A glove compartment or glove box is a compartment built into the dashboard of an automobile, located over the front-seat passenger's footwell, and often used for miscellaneous storage. The name derives from the original purpose of the compart ...
and a slightly more modern dashboard. It was offered with either the MeMZ 968E (, carbureted, low- compression for 76-
octane Octane is a hydrocarbon and an alkane with the chemical formula , and the condensed structural formula . Octane has many structural isomers that differ by the amount and location of branching in the carbon chain. One of these isomers, 2,2,4-Tri ...
fuel); 968GE (, dual carburettor); or the MeMZ 968BE (, 8.4:1 compression, for 93-octane). Instead of the side-mounted "ears", the hood lid and rear quarter panels were
louver A louver (American English) or louvre (British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". Mor ...
ed. The 968M was the last Zaporozhets model and also spent the most time in production, spanning a career from 1979 to 1 June 1994. Some of its special variants include the ZAZ-968MB2, for drivers who had only one foot, the ZAZ-968MB for drivers who had no feet. Planned 968s with or engines were never realized.


Export versions

Among the export variants produced by ZAZ were ZAZ-965E, ZAZ-965AE, ZAZ-966E, ZAZ-968E, and ZAZ-968AE, which had improved features compared to vehicles made for the home market. Depending on target markets, commercial names ''Jalta'' or ''Eliette'' were used for these models. In total, 3,422,444 Zaporozhets vehicles were manufactured and powered by air-cooled engines from the Melitopol factory from 1960 to 1994.


In popular culture

In the 2011 animated feature film, ''
Cars 2 ''Cars 2'' is a 2011 American computer-animated Spy film, spy comedy film produced by Pixar, Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the sequel to ''Cars (film), Cars'' (2006), the second film in the Cars (franchise), ''Cars'' f ...
'',
Vladimir Trunkov '' Cars'' is a media franchise including the 2006 film '' Cars'', the 2011 film ''Cars 2'', the 2017 film '' Cars 3'', the 2013 film ''Planes'' and the 2014 film '' Planes: Fire & Rescue''. Characters in the fictional universe include: Piston ...
, Petrov Trunkov, Lubewig, and Tolga Trunkov are based on the ZAZ-968 Zaporozhets. In the 1995
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
film '' GoldenEye'' Bond's
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
contact Jack Wade drove a 1963 ZAZ 965A. In Half-Life 2 the car is shown as a junked prop that clutters the road. In the 1963 Soviet romantic comedy, ''
Three Plus Two ''Three Plus Two'', or ''3 + 2'' (russian: Три плюс два, Try plyus dva) is a 1963 Soviet romantic comedy film directed by Genrikh Oganisyan based on a play by Sergei Mikhalkov, and co-produced by Moscow-based Gorky Film Studio ...
'', the ZAZ-965 with plate number 18-15-лдг is featured in numerous scenes throughout the movie and is even referred to directly in the script as "A tin can of the Zaporozhets system"


See also

Similar air-cooled and rear-engined vehicles: *
Chevrolet Corvair The Chevrolet Corvair is a compact car manufactured by Chevrolet for model years 1960–1969 in two generations. A response to the Volkswagen Beetle, it remains the only American-designed, mass-produced passenger car with a rear-mounted, air- ...
* NSU Prinz 4 *
Hillman Imp The Hillman Imp is a small economy car that was made by the Rootes Group and its successor Chrysler Europe from 1963 until 1976. Revealed on 3 May 1963, after much advance publicity, it was the first British mass-produced car with the engine blo ...
*
Hino Contessa The Hino Contessa is an automobile which was produced by Hino Motors from 1961 to 1967. The Contessa was developed largely from the 1947-1961 Renault 4CV powertrain under license to Hino Motors. Offered in both coupe and sedan bodystyles, it r ...
*
Volkswagen Type 3 The Volkswagen Type 3 is a compact car manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen from 1961-1973. Introduced at the 1961 Frankfurt Motor Show, ''Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung (IAA)'', the Type 3 was marketed as the Volkswagen 1500 and later ...


References

{{Authority control ZAZ vehicles Rear-engined vehicles Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Soviet automobiles Soviet brands Ukrainian brands 1960s cars 1970s cars 1980s cars 1990s cars City cars Subcompact cars Sedans