The VAZ-2101 Zhiguli, commonly nicknamed Kopeyka after the smallest Soviet coin, was the first product of the Volga car plant at Tolyatti, introduced in 1970. It was a licence-built Fiat 124, heavily modified for the rough climate and roads of the Soviet Union, and it was exported to the West as the Lada 1200.
VAZ-2101 at a glance
| Maker | AvtoVAZ, Tolyatti, Russia |
|---|---|
| Production | 1970–1988 |
| Based on | Fiat 124, built under licence |
| Also called | Zhiguli, Kopeyka |
| Export names | Lada 1200, Lada 1300, Lada 1200S, Lada 2101 |
| Body | four-door saloon; estate as VAZ-2102 |
| Engine | 1.2-litre four, single overhead camshaft |
| Drive | rear-wheel drive, live rear axle |
| Weight | 945 kg |
| Changes from the Fiat | about 800 |
| First export | 1971 |
Based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on the VAZ-2101.
History of the VAZ-2101
The Fiat 124 had won the 1967 European Car of the Year, and VAZ adapted it to survive Russian driving conditions. Aluminium brake drums were added at the rear, and the original Fiat engine was dropped in favour of a newer overhead-camshaft design made by NAMI that was never used in Fiat cars. The suspension was raised to clear rough roads, and the bodyshell was made from thicker, heavier steel with reinforcement in key chassis areas after cracking appeared in durability testing. Early cars carried a starting handle in case the battery went flat in Siberian conditions, later dropped, and a manual auxiliary fuel pump. VAZ engineers and their Italian counterparts developed improvements that Fiat later applied to the 124 in its final years, including the chassis strengthening; internally Fiat called the car developed for VAZ the 124R, with R for Russian.
About 800 modifications were made in all, including the rear brakes changed from discs to drums, the suspension raised for ground clearance, a different carburettor and thicker steel, so that the 2101 weighed 945 kg, 90 kg more than the Fiat. All versions had soft suspension tuned to local roads for a comfortable ride on rough gravel. A special anti-freeze coolant, Tosol A40, was developed as Russia’s first, and Fiat stipulated that a nationwide service network be established. The drivetrain was a simple rear-wheel-drive layout with a live rear axle and an inline four with two valves per cylinder and a single overhead camshaft.
Launch and exports
The first year brought 22,000 cars, and capacity reached 660,000 by 1973. Sales reached one million on 21 December 1973 and one and a half million in 1974. Exports began on 21 February 1971 to Yugoslavia, with 32 cars sent to Finland, Holland and Belgium on 30 July. After a competition in the magazine Za Rulyom that drew 1,812 entries, the name Lada was chosen in September 1971 and export cars were called Lada 1200s. The car was sold in Britain from May 1974, priced at £979, until the Riva arrived in 1983, and it was the first Lada sold there. It was exported as the Lada 1200, 1300, 1200S and 2101 until 1989.
Production was always behind demand and the price crept up, but by 1980 the wait for a new 2101 was down to a year. Sales to Cuba began in 1971, and until 2006 Raúl Castro drove to work in his own saloon. Canada took the car from 1978, but none were exported to the United States, and Angola received its first thousand Ladas in 1977. Under the licensing agreement VAZ was forbidden from selling the car in Italy, to protect Fiat’s home market, and from any export market where it would compete with the 124; exports to Western Europe nevertheless began in autumn 1971. The 2101 remained in production for the domestic market as late as 1988. A flaw in the engine design made the crankshaft wear too fast, and around 1980 the part was out of stock for a long period, resolved only after two years.
VAZ-2102 estate
The estate version, based on the Fiat 124 Familiare, was known as the VAZ-2102 and was available from 1971; production started on 27 April 1972. It was replaced by the VAZ-2104, the Lada Riva estate, in 1985, and over 660,000 had been built by the end of production in 1986.
Design and features
- Re-engineered for Russia: thicker steel, raised suspension and about 800 changes from the Fiat 124.
- NAMI engine: an overhead-camshaft four of Lada’s own design, never used by Fiat.
- Cold-weather kit: a starting handle and an auxiliary fuel pump on early cars.
- Huge production: one million cars sold by December 1973.
VAZ-2101 versions
- VAZ-2101 saloon: the original four-door of 1970.
- VAZ-2102 estate: the wagon from 1971, based on the Fiat 124 Familiare.
- Lada 1200: the main Western export name.
- Lada 1300 and 1200S: further export designations used until 1989.
The 2101 was developed into the VAZ-2103 and VAZ-2106, and its line ended with the Lada Riva. More models are in the Lada collection.
Video: Latvian VAZ 2101
Video by No Photo, Only Video on YouTube.
Sources
- VAZ-2101, English Wikipedia: development, history, exports, estate
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