ZAZ-969


The ZAZ-969 was a Soviet four-wheel drive automobile built by the Zaporizhia Automobile Building Plant. The first Soviet vehicle with front wheel drive, it was based on the LuAZ-967.
Developing ideas from the unbuilt Moskvitch 415 prototype, designers used the LuAZ-967 as a basis for a four-wheel drive. vehicle They added a body to the LuAZ's bare form, and fitted a MeMZ 966 air-cooled four-cylinder engine. No other mechanical changes were made.
A pre-production batch of fifty was created in 1965, dubbed ZAZ-969, and production was authorized in 1966 as the 969V. It was built by ZAZ until 1971, when LuAZ took over.
Its pioneering front wheel drive was due to a lack of drivable rear axles from the supplier, which was giving priority to the LuAZ-967. Nevertheless, the 969 performed well, with a weight of only and an wheelbase. The transmission was a four-speed.
When LuAZ took over production, four-wheel drive became standard.
In 1975, the LuAZ-969A replaced the original 969, offering a new MeMZ 969 four-cylinder engine. It survived until 1979.
This was followed by a hard-top panel van version in 1977, known as the 969F, with a payload, which was only built in small quantities.
LuAZ began developing a replacement for the 969A in 1974, the 969M; it entered production in 1979. It was named Volin, for the region around Lutsk. It retained the engine, but changed to disk brakes with servo assist. Door locks were added. Folding windshield was standard.
Exports were limited, though it proved popular in Italy, where Martorelli also offered it with a Ford engine.