Lada Oka: the Soviet city car

The Lada Oka, known inside the factories as the VAZ-1111, was a small city car designed in the Soviet Union in the late 1970s by AvtoVAZ. It entered production in 1988 with a 644 cc two-cylinder engine, and some 700,000 examples were built over nearly two decades.

Lada Oka at a glance

Based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on the Oka.

History of the Lada Oka

The Oka was designed as the replacement for the air-cooled, rear-engined ZAZ Zaporozhets 966–968 series, the people’s car of the Soviet Union. The SeAZ factory in Serpukhov specialised in vehicles for disabled drivers and by the 1970s was building the S-3D, a spartan two-seat sedan powered by a motorcycle engine. When engineers in Serpukhov asked the automotive ministry for a new product, they turned to their VAZ colleagues, and the project was approved in 1983.

The tiny car was to replace the S-3D and, like it, used a simple two-cylinder engine. Andrei Rozov, one of the lead engine designers at VAZ, proposed a new three-cylinder unit, but it could not be developed in time, so the decision was made to use a two-cylinder version of the VAZ-2108 four by effectively cutting the latter in half. The Oka quickly became the next people’s car project, a vehicle that, in the words of the time, every factory engineer could afford.

The exterior was drawn by Yuri Vereschagin, who took inspiration from Japanese kei cars such as the Daihatsu Cuore and, in size and proportions only, from the Fiat Uno, Fiat Panda and Renault 5. The Soviet ministry preferred the Oka over other three-door microcars from SeAZ and NAMI. Despite the tight project specification, the car’s acceptable operating characteristics and low price led to about 700,000 examples being built. The first cars were made in December 1987, and series production ended in Russia in 2008, when SeAZ built the last batch with Chinese Euro-2 engines.

Electric and special versions

At the 1989 Moscow International Motor Show VAZ exhibited a battery-electric version known as the VAZ-111E. It was produced on special order until 1998, with 120 V of batteries stored in the engine bay, under the seats and in the cargo bay, giving a range of about 100 km. In 2002 the car was awarded zero stars out of four by the Russian ARCAP safety programme; the version built by ZMA was found to be marginally safer than the one from SeAZ.

As of 2006 four versions were distributed: the basic VAZ-11113 Oka from ZMA or SeAZ with 33 hp, 125 km/h and 3.2 litres per 100 km; the custom VAZ-11301 Astro with 49 hp; and the VAZ-11113-27 Toyma, a light delivery vehicle with a cargo compartment instead of the rear seats. Many SeAZ cars were adapted for disabled drivers. In the summer of 2023 the Russian government began talking about a possible revival of the Oka name.

Design and features

• Two-cylinder engine: a cut-down version of the VAZ-2108 four, mounted in a tiny body.
• Low running costs: 3.2 litres per 100 km and a top speed of 125 km/h.
• Kei-car inspiration: Japanese city cars guided the size and proportions.
• Adapted versions: SeAZ built many cars for disabled drivers.

Lada Oka versions

• VAZ-1111 (1988–1996): the original with a 650 cc two-cylinder engine.
• VAZ-11113 (1996–2007): the 750 cc version, 33 hp.
• VAZ-111E (1989): an experimental electric car with about 100 km of range.
• VAZ-11301 Astro: a custom version with 49 hp.
• VAZ-11113-27 Toyma: a light delivery vehicle.
• SeAZ-11116 (2007–2008): a version with a 1,000 cc Chinese three-cylinder engine.

The Oka was the smallest Lada, below the Lada Samara, and its engine was derived from the Samara’s four. More models are in the Lada collection.

Video: 2006 Vaz 1116 Oka. Start Up, Engine, and In Depth Tour.

Video by MegaRetr on YouTube.

Sources

• Oka (automobile), English Wikipedia: history, design, versions, production