CarBrandLogos archive · UAZ · 2003

UAZHunter

The Soviet army's jeep, tidied up and sold to civilians.

The story

A defining chapter in UAZ history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the UAZ Hunter, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

By the early 2000s UAZ was selling a design from 1971 into a market that now had access to imported Japanese and Korean four-wheel drives. The Hunter, introduced in 2003, was the response: the UAZ-469 kept intact where it counted and modernised where it was cheapest to do so.

UAZ Hunter in Yekaterinburg · Andrij Bulba from Slovakia · CC BY 2.0

Design and engineering

The ladder frame, live axles and upright four-door body carried over. What changed was the equipment — a fuel-injected ZMZ petrol engine, a five-speed gearbox, better brakes, improved sealing and an interior that acknowledged the existence of the driver. Diesel options followed for some markets.

UAZ-469 on Garbarska street in Kraków · SuperTank17 · CC BY-SA 3.0

In production

It was never going to compete on refinement, and UAZ did not try. The Hunter sold on price, on parts availability across the former Soviet Union, and on the fact that anyone who could hold a spanner could keep one running. That remains its argument today.

UAZ · Arnar Ram 2 · CC BY-SA 3.0

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1971–present

Engine

2445&nbsp

Designer

Albert Rakhmanov

Body

4-door SUV

Technical specification

The Hunter, in detail.

Production: 1971–present
Body style: 4-door SUV
Layout: Front-engine, four-wheel drive
Engine: 2445 cc UMZ 451 MI Straight-four engine; I4 ; 2693 cc I4
Transmission: 4-speed or 5-speed manual
Designer: Albert Rakhmanov
Assembly: Soviet Union / Russia: Ulyanovsk; Ukraine: Lutsk (LuAZ: 1999–2004); Germany: Bad Nauheim (Baijah Automotive: 2003–2007); Cuba: Camagüey (Empresa Reparadora José Smith Comas: 2003–20??); Azerbaijan: Ganja (Ganja Auto Plan
Manufacturer: UAZ