ZIL-41047: the final ZiL limousine

The ZIL-41047 was the final version of the Soviet state limousine, built from 1985 and replaced at the top of the ZiL range by no direct successor. It carried the last restyling of the ZIL-114 generation and the same 7.7-litre V8.

ZIL-41047 at a glance

History of the ZIL-41047

The third restyling

The ZIL-41047 was introduced in 1985, when a new General Secretary took over, and replaced the ZIL-41045 of 1983–1985. It was the third and last restyling of the ZIL-114 generation, and like its predecessors it used a body style that played on the cars of the 1920s. Twin headlamps became rectangular, the radiator grille was restyled, the rear lights were changed and the turn indicators moved to the ends of the wings. The opening quarter-lights in the front doors disappeared. Until then the ZIL-4104 of 1976–1983 and the ZIL-41045 had round headlamps.

Mechanical changes

The mechanical side changed little: the same 7.7-litre carburetted V8 of 315 hp and 610 Nm drove the rear wheels through a three-speed automatic. The car seated seven including the driver and its top speed with two people was quoted as no less than 190 km/h. There were technical refinements for emission rules: the engine received breakerless electronic ignition, and in 1988 the automatic transmission was modified with a new design of freewheel clutch and related parts for greater reliability. The ZIL-41047 got 16-inch wheels and wider 265 mm Granit tyres, whose very stiff sidewalls and internal gel allowed the car to be driven on a deflated wheel.

Versions

The limousine was made for members of the Politburo, and 153 examples of the ZIL-41047 were built for the main customer; the last was made for the President of Kazakhstan in 2002, with a few remaining cars assembled up to 2017. The five-seat ZIL-41041 saloon on a shorter 3,300 mm wheelbase was built from 1986 to 2000, 30 cars in all, 12 of them in 1997–2000 for the Moscow city government. There were also the ZIL-41049 and 4107 special communications cars, the ZIL-41072 ‘Scorpion’ escort car, the ZIL-41052 armoured limousine and the ZIL-41047TB armoured car of 1992, of which two were made.

Parade cars

For the Victory Day parades on Red Square in 2009 the plant built the ZIL-410441 convertibles on the 41041 base. They were not accepted because of the huge hood box for the folded roof, and instead similar ZIL-41041 AMG cars from the Atlant-Delta firm were used. In 2011 or 2012 one more ZIL-410441 was built and sold to Viktor Yanukovych. A documentary film, ‘The Last Limousine’, was made about the last three cars.

Design and features

• Final restyling: rectangular headlamps, a new grille and indicators moved to the wing ends.
• 7.7-litre V8: 315 hp with electronic ignition, driving through a three-speed automatic.
• Run-flat tyres: 265 mm Granit tyres with gel inside, able to run deflated.
• End of the line: the last limousine of the ZIL-114 generation, with no direct successor.

ZIL-41047 versions

• ZIL-41047 (1985–2002): the seven-seat limousine, 153 built.
• ZIL-41041 (1986–2000): five-seat saloon on a short wheelbase, 30 built.
• ZIL-41052 (1988–2002): armoured limousine.
• ZIL-41072 ‘Scorpion’ (1989–1999): escort car.
• ZIL-410441 (2009–2012): parade convertibles for Red Square.

The ZIL-41047 followed the ZIL-4104 and shared its mechanicals with the ZIL-117 line of shorter cars. More limousines are in the ZiL collection.

Sources

• ZIL-41047, English Wikipedia: description, performance, variants
• ЗИЛ-41047, Russian Wikipedia: styling changes, production numbers, parade cars