CarBrandLogos archive · Lada · 1970

LadaVAZ-2101 Zhiguli

A licensed Fiat rebuilt from the ground up to survive Soviet roads and Soviet winters.

Photo: Forrexp · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Lada history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Lada VAZ-2101 Zhiguli, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

In 1966 the Soviet government signed an agreement with Fiat to build a car plant at Togliatti, a city on the Volga named after the Italian communist leader. Fiat supplied the design, the tooling and much of the expertise; the Soviet side supplied the site and the enormous scale. The car chosen was the Fiat 124, European Car of the Year in 1967 and a thoroughly modern compact saloon. What emerged from Togliatti in 1970 was not the same vehicle.

Dirkvd M lada limousine · User:DirkvdM · CC BY-SA 3.0

Design and engineering

Soviet engineers subjected the 124 to a long testing programme on Russian roads and demanded around eight hundred changes. The body panels were made from thicker steel. The suspension was strengthened and the ride height raised. The rear disc brakes were replaced with drums, on the grounds that they coped better with mud, grit and neglect. The engine was redesigned with an overhead camshaft in place of the Fiat's pushrods. A starting handle was retained for cold mornings, and the whole car was specified to work at temperatures that would have stopped an Italian one.

Lada Riva estate Cambridge · Charles01 · CC BY-SA 3.0

In production

It was sold at home as the Zhiguli, after hills near the plant, and exported as the Lada because the domestic name sounded unfortunate in several languages. Russians called it the Kopeyka, after the smallest coin. For millions of families it was the first car they had ever owned, and the waiting lists for one ran to years.

Lada VAZ-2101 Zhiguli · Olahjoci · CC BY 3.0

Legacy

Production of the 2101 ran to 1988, with 1.2, 1.3 and 1.5-litre four-cylinder engines and saloon and estate bodies. The 2105, 2104 and 2107 that succeeded it were facelifts of the same structure, and those in turn ran into the 2010s. Half a century of Soviet and Russian motoring descends directly from this one licensing deal.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1970–1988

Engine

Petrol engine

Body

4-door Sedan

Technical specification

The VAZ-2101 Zhiguli, in detail.

Production: 1970–1988
Class: Compact car
Body style: 4-door Sedan (automobile); sedan; 5-door Station wagon; estate
Layout: Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Engine: Petrol engine; petrol: ; 1.2 L VAZ-2101 Straight-four engine; I4 ; 1.3 L VAZ-21011 I4 ; 1.5 L VAZ-2103 I4
Transmission: 4-speed Manual; 3-speed Automatic
Assembly: Soviet Union: Togliatti, Samara Oblast
Manufacturer: VAZ/AvtoVAZ