On April 19, 1970, the main conveyor of Volga Automobile Factory (VAZ) in Togliatti, Russia, gave birth to the first ever car of the brand – the model «2101». It was a bit similar with Fiat 124 which was awarded the «Car of the Year» title in 1966. The whole construction of the Italian car was slightly transformed in accordance with conditions in Russia. The clearance was extended, suspension and cabin were armored and disс brakes were replaced with cylindric ones. The layout of the engine was also heavily upgraded: the camshaft was moved into the cylinder head, the distance between the cylinders was increased so it would be possible to enlarge them in diameter. Also, there were changes in the clutch, gearbox, cardan drive and rear axle. The car also was provided with the opportunity to be started with the help of a trigger handle. All in all, both, Russian and Italian engineers, implemented more than 800 changes in the initial construction, the great deal of which was done by the Fiat’s side.
Despite a commonly accepted idea, «Zhiguli» (unofficial name of VAZ cars – editor’s note) were built entirely of the local details with no shipments from Italy. But the factory equipment came from abroad, which explains the fact that there were seals and brands from Fiat on the Soviet automobiles. In the course of time the exploitation period of details started to expire, the parts were replaced and there were no such marks as before. But it has to be said that the quality of the VAZ cars was gradually decreasing.
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