CarBrandLogos archive · GAZ · 1956

GAZGAZ-21 Volga

Chrome, a deer on the bonnet, and Soviet ambition aimed straight at Detroit.

Photo: Andrey Butko · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in GAZ history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the GAZ-21 Volga, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Replacing the Pobeda meant answering a question the Soviet industry had not faced before: what should a car look like when the country wants to be seen as modern? GAZ's answer borrowed heavily from mid-1950s America, with a wide grille, generous chrome and, on early cars, a leaping deer as a bonnet mascot, taken from the coat of arms of Gorky itself.

GAZ-21 "Volga" in Lithuania · Wojsyl · CC BY-SA 3.0

Design and engineering

Production ran from 1956 to 1970 with a 2.5-litre four and, unusually for the period and the place, an automatic gearbox offered at launch before it was quietly dropped in favour of the three-speed manual. Saloon and estate bodies were built, the latter as the GAZ-22.

GAZ-21 "Volga" interior · DL24 at English Wikipedia · Public domain

In production

The Volga was not a car ordinary citizens bought. It went to ministries, taxi fleets and those with access, which is precisely why it became a status object and why good restored examples now command real money. A separate strand, the GAZ-23, hid a 5.5-litre V8 and an automatic gearbox under a standard body for state security use. Exports were handled through Belgium, where Sobimpex in Antwerp assembled and sold cars, sometimes fitting diesel engines to suit European buyers. The GAZ-24 replaced it in 1970.

Volga GAZ 21 M · Lukáš Malý · Public domain

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1956–1970

Engine

2.5&nbsp

Body

4-door saloon

Technical specification

The GAZ-21 Volga, in detail.

Production: 1956–1970
Class: Executive car (E)
Body style: 4-door saloon (GAZ-21, GAZ-23); 5-door wagon (GAZ-22)
Engine: 2.5 L M-21 Straight-four engine; I4 (GAZ-21/22) ; 5.5 L M-13 V8 engine; V8 (GAZ-23)
Transmission: 3-speed automatic (initially); 3-speed manual
Assembly: Soviet Union: Gorky; Belgium: Antwerp (Sobimpex N.V.)
Manufacturer: GAZ