"Zubilo" from Togliatti: Lada-2108 celebrates its fortieth anniversary
Forty years ago, the first serial "eight" came off the assembly line of the Togliatti automobile plant, which became an iconic model for motorists of the USSR and Russia. It gave an impetus to the creation of several families of domestic cars. What was the contribution of foreign companies in the process of creating this car and why at first Soviet car enthusiasts treated it rather cautiously, "Izvestia" found out.
The party said...
On December 18, 1984, the first three-door front-wheel drive hatchback VAZ-2108 in beige color came off the assembly line of the automobile plant in Togliatti. Its assembly was entrusted to the best employees of the enterprise, and production was organized not on the main, but on a separate training conveyor of the auto giant. The car received the official name "Sputnik". However, the people gave the car the nickname "zubilo" for its characteristic silhouette.
"VAZ-2108 is not just a new car, but the first model of a fundamentally new in design family of cars. When in 1978 was approved for it technical specifications, preference was given to the layout scheme with front driving wheelsv. As shown by comprehensive tests and operation in different climatic and road conditions, VAZ-2108 not only sharply differs in its consumer qualities from other cars common in our country. It is not inferior to the best foreign analogs of its class. The car is well adapted to operation in our country and in these conditions, we can safely say, surpasses foreign samples, - reported in the December issue for 1984 the magazine "Za Rulem".
Officially, the development of a fundamentally new passenger car in the USSR was announced in February 1981. Speaking at the XXVI Congress of the CPSU, Viktor Polyakov, Minister of Automotive Industry, said that in the XI Five-Year Plan the country would have a front-wheel drive model, which in terms of design and technology would have nothing in common with the cars produced at that time. Since it was Polyakov who was the first director of Volga Automobile Plant and held this position from 1966 to 1975, it is not surprising that the creation and production of the new model was entrusted to Togliatti engineers and designers.
"Promise that there will be a good car".
However, work on the development of the future "eight" began long before the official announcement of plans to create a new car. For example, the first sketch of VAZ-2108 is dated May 1977, and at the end of December 1978, the first prototype was assembled at the plant.
It was not without the participation of foreigners. Experts from Porsche and UTS (a subsidiary of Fiat) worked on the future "eight": the work was carried out in Togliatti, Stuttgart and Turin. Moreover, all developments, drawings and projects were evaluated by designers and engineers from all three of these centers.
At the same time, it was Porsche engineers who supervised the development of the chassis of the car, and the testers of the German company brought the driving characteristics of the car. That is why the Lada-2108 occupies an honorable place in the museum of the German manufacturer of sports cars in Stuttgart.
To establish production of the car, the USSR had to acquire a number of foreign technologies. For example, the car was equipped with German steering rack ZF, English brake mechanisms Lucas and equal-angle joints Hardy Spicer, Italian carburetors Solex, French tubeless tires Michelin. But most of the work was done by domestic specialists.
The birth of front-wheel drive in Togliatti was difficult. Many units and parts, which are now considered familiar and simple, 40 years ago were outlandish, their production had to be started from scratch. For example, it was on the "eight" that "bent" door windows appeared for the first time in our country: on all previous models of cars they were flat. For a long time, Soviet automobile glass manufacturers failed to establish production of a new type of product - the glass cracked treacherously.
The factory newspaper told that before starting work on the new car, Viktor Polyakov made the chief designer of VAZ, Georgy Mirzoev, write a receipt.
"Write that you take full responsibility for the fact that it will be a high-quality and reliable car," the USSR Minister of Automotive Industry demanded. Polyakov put this receipt in the safe with the words: "I will get it when I need it.
Wonderful miracle, marvelous wonder
At first, Soviet motorists were cool to the VAZ novelty, recalls automobile historian Evgeny Pevzner. And the matter was not at all in the price: in 1986, the "eight" cost 8.3 thousand rubles, as well as the "five", VAZ-2106 was more expensive by 700 rubles, and the prestigious VAZ-2107 - by 1.4 thousand "wooden". The distrust was due to the fact that motorists who were used to rear-wheel-drive Zhiguls, Moskvichs and Volgas were frightened and confused by the front-wheel drive, he explains.
- Drivers had to break established habits, accustom themselves to a completely different behavior of the car on the road. A lot of people simply did not understand how to drive an "eight" on an off-road or slippery road. In fact, it was necessary to learn to drive anew: even starting from a place and that often caused difficulties. Due to the peculiarities of the gearbox, the reverse gear on VAZ-2108 was switched on as well as the first speed on the usual cars. As a result, at first, there were quite often curious accidents when a car suddenly "bumped" the rear bumper of the car standing behind at a traffic light," said Evgeny Pevzner.
The huge number of technical and design innovations of the car also caused caution, says Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem magazine.
- Everything was a wonder here: front-wheel drive, McPherson front suspension, rear "beam", transverse location of the engine.... Motorists, accustomed to see engines with chain drive of the timing mechanism, were frightened by the belt in the timing drive: such an important part, and here instead of "iron" - some rubber clamp.... And there is no special hole in the bumper for the "crooked starter", - recalls the editor-in-chief of "Za Rulem".
Nevertheless, quite quickly motorists felt all the advantages of the novelty. At that time, it was one of the fastest and most dynamic serial models in the USSR, fears about the reliability of new and unfamiliar nodes and units disappeared. As a result, if in the beginning some motorists who received a postcard inviting them to the "Automobiles" store with VAZ-2108 on it, tried to exchange it for another car in one way or another, then very soon the "eight" became scarce.
Wings and motors
The most famous engines, which were equipped with "eight", were a 1.3-liter motor with an output of 64 hp, as well as a one and a half liter 70-horsepower unit (it appeared in 1987, simultaneously with the five-door VAZ-2109). However, there was also a 1.1-liter motor that produced 54 "horses". It was installed on cars that were exported. Since in a number of countries at that time, the tax on the car was determined on the basis of engine volume, such modifications were preferable in the eyes of foreign consumers. Foreign automobile magazines praised Samara (under this name the car was exported) for its affordable price and lively character, but scolded it for the quality of plastic. On the basis of the export "eight" some companies made small-scale production cars, including a convertible Natasha.
Until 1990, VAZ-2108 and VAZ-2109 had a so-called short wing and a plastic "mask" in the front of the car. This was explained by a simpler body repair in case of a small accident, as well as better protection from corrosion - chips from stones on the plastic "face" did not lead to rust. However, often the "mask" was torn, there were uneven gaps between it, hood and fenders. In 1990, when the production of VAZ-21099 sedan began in Togliatti, "eight" and "nine" together with it received new long front fenders and hood. A strange "beak" on the grille of the early cars appeared because the headlight wiper mechanism was hidden under it.
Step into the future
"Eight" became the very car that allowed the Soviet automobile industry to make a serious leap forward, to get away from outdated designs and technologies, says Maxim Kadakov. Many solutions that were applied in VAZ-2108, later found their continuation in "Priors" and "Kalinas", he said.
- "Eight is certainly an iconic car for our country. It showed that the USSR could develop and produce modern models and was well-deservedly loved by motorists," he said.
A total of 884,370 Lada-2108 cars were produced from 1984 to 2003. More than 215 thousand of them, according to the analytical agency "Avtostat", continue to drive on the roads of our country.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
