LAZ-695: the Soviet city bus that stayed in production for 46 years

The LAZ-695 was a Soviet and later Ukrainian urban and suburban bus built in Lviv from 1956 to 2002. It was the first Soviet bus with a rear-mounted longitudinal engine and an integral body, and more than 250,000 were made in one of the longest production runs of any bus model.

LAZ-695 at a glance

History of the LAZ-695

Prototypes, 1955–1957

The Lviv bus plant was built after the Second World War and finished in 1949, making cranes, trailers and truck parts. On 17 March 1955 the Soviet ministry ordered a new rear-engined city bus for 50 passengers, 30 of them seated, to replace the ZIS-155; the designers studied a Mercedes-Benz O 321 and Magirus-Deutz buses bought from West Germany. The first prototype appeared on 12 February 1956, in time for the 20th Congress of the Communist Party, and was named LAZ-695 “Lviv”. It was the first Soviet bus with the engine mounted longitudinally at the rear, and it had a self-supporting integral body and a leaf-spring suspension with correcting springs that kept the ride steady whatever the load. The rear door had four folding segments and opened pneumatically inwards, the front two-segment door opened manually outwards, and chrome hubcaps became a trademark of the 695/697/699 family.

Seven prototypes preceded production. The second, built in Moscow in June 1956, was reclassified as a suburban bus: it lost the rear door, gained paired soft seats and kept only a single manual front door. The third, from October 1956, returned to the city layout and was tested on Moscow route 55, while later prototypes refined the cooling of the rear engine, which had suffered from a lack of air.

695, 695B and 695E (1957–1970)

Serial production of the first LAZ-695 began in summer 1957. From late 1957 the body was strengthened and the doors got pneumatic instead of mechanical operation. In 1958 the 695B arrived with a wide air intake on the rear roof instead of the side intakes, and with the 120 hp ZIL-120FB engine; it was built from May 1958 until 1964. The 695E of 1964–1970 brought the 150 hp ZIL-130L V8.

695M and 695N (1970–2002)

The second generation, the 695M of 1970–1976, changed the side panels, enlarged the side windows and replaced the single turbine-shaped air intake on the rear roof with two intakes at the sides, while the front stayed almost unchanged. The third generation, the 695N of 1976–2002, added a new “canopy” front end. A diesel version, the 695D, appeared in 1995. After production in Lviv stopped the documentation went to the DAZ plant in Kamianske, where the bus was still built until 2010, and the total passed 250,000, making the 695 one of the most widespread buses in the Soviet Union.

Design and features

• Rear engine: the first Soviet bus with a longitudinal rear engine and rear-wheel drive, an unusual layout taken from the ZIS-155’s replacement programme.
• Integral body: a self-supporting frame of rectangular tubes with duralumin panels, light and rigid for its time.
• Self-adjusting suspension: leaf springs with correcting springs gave a non-linear stiffness, so the ride stayed comfortable loaded or empty.
• Convertible to an ambulance: the seats could be removed and wounded carried in through an extra door under the windscreen beside the driver.
• Long life: 46 years on one plant’s line, a record for a Soviet bus model, and many examples were still in service in the 2020s.

LAZ-695 versions

• LAZ-695 (1956–1958): the original with the ZIL-158L engine and the first production body.
• LAZ-695B (1958–1964): strengthened body, pneumatic doors and a roof air intake.
• LAZ-695E (1964–1970): the 150 hp ZIL-130L V8.
• LAZ-695M (1970–1976): new side panels, larger windows and side air intakes.
• LAZ-695N (1976–2002): the third-generation “canopy” front.
• LAZ-695D (1995–2002): diesel-engined version.

The 695 shared its chassis with the coach LAZ-697 Tourist and the larger LAZ-699. More vehicles are in the LAZ collection.

Sources

• LAZ-695, English Wikipedia: development, prototypes, versions
• ЛАЗ-695, Ukrainian Wikipedia: generations, production history