IZh-2125 Kombi: the first Soviet liftback

The IZh-2125 Kombi of 1973 was the first Soviet car with a liftback body: a practical five-door based on the Moskvitch-412, with a tailgate and a load bay joined to the cabin. From 1982 it was built in updated form as the IZh-21251, and it stayed in production until 1997.

IZh-2125 at a glance

History of the IZh-2125

In the second half of the 1960s Europe turned towards practical hatchbacks and liftbacks, especially after the Renault 16, voted Car of the Year in 1966. At the end of the decade the designers of the young Izhevsk plant began work on such a car, designated IZh-2125 and known as the Izh-Kombi; it went into series production in 1973. The Moskvitch-412, already built in Izhevsk, was taken as the basis with as many shared parts as possible. The visible changes concerned the rear: the separate boot of the Moskvitch was replaced by a load bay joined to the cabin, with a tailgate opening upwards, and the frames of the rear doors were altered. The structure was changed too: the front and rear longitudinal members were joined by extra floor reinforcements, forming a frame integrated into the body and running from bumper to bumper, exactly as on the IZh-2715 pickups. The car also received stronger springs and a folding rear seat.

The prototypes wore radiator grilles from the production saloons, but the Kombi went on sale with its own front end, with vertical lamps combining side lights and vertical indicators beside the headlights. Those headlights were rectangular units from East Germany, and the 2125 was the only Izhevsk model to use them, even after other Izh cars stopped being fitted with them around 1973–74. In layout the front recalled some of the “3-5” prototypes built at AZLK in those years.

Which body is it?

The factory called the body a kombi, or a “five-door cargo-passenger” car; the word comes from German and originally meant any car with a door in the rear wall. Strictly speaking it was not a hatchback as the term is used today, because a hatchback has a rear overhang shorter than a saloon’s while the Kombi’s overhang was practically the same as the saloon’s; that is why the model was officially a kombi even though the word hatchback was already known. Modern retrospectives often call the IZh-2125 the first Soviet hatchback, brought out about a decade before the VAZ-2108 Lada Samara, although its body is really a station wagon with a heavily sloped D-pillar. The term liftback, little used in Russia until recently, describes it best, and because of the step in the tailgate it could even be called a notchback, as similar European bodies were.

Success and facelifts

Between 1974 and 1980 the Kombi was a notable sales success in the USSR thanks to its durability, its ability on poor roads and its carrying capacity, and it became the first Izh car sold for export. Its popularity owed something to the shortage of Lada, Moskvitch and Volga estate cars, which were harder to buy. In 1978 the car had a minor revision: front disc brakes arrived, as on the Izh-built Moskvitch-412 and as standard on AZLK’s 2140 series since 1976, and the grille was painted black while its design and the rectangular headlights stayed the same. From then on the car was sometimes known as the IZh-21251 in internal documents and repair manuals, though it was not renamed publicly for four more years.

In 1982 the Kombi was facelifted together with the Izh-built Moskvitch-412 and the IZh-2715 van, and officially renamed IZh-21251. The chrome grille with East German VER headlights was replaced by a black-painted metal grille with round headlights, the old logo — a white circle in a blue square — gave way to an “ИЖ” wordmark in white, the side marker units changed slightly, and the car received recessed door handles of the Moskvitch-2140 type, set lower on the door. The facelifted car also gained front disc brakes instead of drums, separate front and rear brake circuits and new wiring. A luxury prototype, the IZh-21251 SL, with rectangular headlights, headlamp wipers, a boot-lid spoiler, chrome window trim and a better interior, never reached production.

The modernised Kombi sold into the 1990s. As the Soviet Union collapsed, Izh was privatised as the open joint-stock company Izhevsk and slowly converted its car lines to other products such as firearms; in 1995–96, as AZLK’s revenue collapsed, AvtoVAZ took it over and renamed it IzhAuto, discontinued the old models and introduced the IZh-2126 Oda, which replaced the Kombi. In 2018 the arms manufacturer Kalashnikov showed the CV-1 electric car, its exterior closely based on the IZh-2125, with a claimed range of 350 km; nothing more was heard of it.

Design and features

• First Soviet liftback: a tailgate and a load bay joined to the cabin, ten years before the Lada Samara.
• Strong body: longitudinal members joined into a frame running from the front bumper to the rear one.
• Practicality: stronger springs, a folding rear seat and a body nearly as short as the saloon’s.
• Shared mechanics: the Moskvitch-412 engine, gearbox and front end meant easy service and cheap parts.
• Export career: the first Izh car offered to foreign buyers.

IZh-2125 versions

• IZh-2125 Kombi (1973–1982): chrome grille and rectangular East German headlights.
• IZh-21251 (1982–1997): black grille, round headlights, recessed handles, front disc brakes.
• IZh-21251 SL: a luxury prototype with rectangular lights and a spoiler, never produced.
• Kalashnikov CV-1 (2018): an electric concept car styled after the 2125.

The Kombi was built on the IZh-412 and shared its front end with the IZh-2715 van and pickup. It was replaced by the IZh-2126 Oda. More are in the IZh collection.

Sources

• Izh 2125, English Wikipedia: dates, body debate, 1978 and 1982 changes, CV-1
• Иж-2125, Russian Wikipedia: origins, body structure, facelift details, SL prototype