"Humpbacked" electric car: what could the ZAZ-965 with an alternative drive have become?

The most popular Soviet car I think everyone knows the Zaporozhets 965 model. Despite the fact that even in its time it could cause disdainful smiles and a condescending look from the owners of Moskvichs or, even more so, Zhiguli and Volgas.


The owners of the "little ones" themselves had a completely different opinion. After all, its affordable price of "some" 1800 Soviet rubles could easily make someone's pipe dream come true. Experts calculated that in two years the average worker of the Union could save up for such a "miracle" and be proud that he, too, was on wheels.


Of course, the new product did not take root in the domestic space immediately and not very easily. After all, after some of our people became owners of "Pobedas" (or even trophy cars), even "Moskvichs" were perceived as something below average. And what can we say about the miniature design, which received the not very flattering nickname "hunchback" among the people.

Advertising as the engine of Soviet trade

And although we were convinced that "there is no advertising in the Soviet Union," party and other officials were being very disingenuous. If the state and those in power needed to "offer" something to the people, then any method was suitable. Especially the blue screen.

As is known, the lion's share of the expenses in preparing for the 80 Olympics was covered by the Sportloto lottery. But when its popularity began to wane, a comedy of the same name with famous actors appeared in 1982.


The same approach was taken in the case of the ZAZ-965. In order to somehow prepare people for the new product, they launched the “Two Plus Three” for rental. And everyone immediately learned that on such a car:

✅ popular beautiful actresses can ride
✅ easy to go on holiday
✅ you feel no worse than, say, in a huge Volga

The deal was done and the small car, priced just under two thousand, went to its customers. This led to the fact that the model of the extra small class stood on the Zaporozhye conveyor throughout the 60s, and its total circulation exceeded 322 thousand copies. Two power units served as a drive: MeMZ-965 and MeMZ-966 (for the ZAZ-965A modification). Here are their indicators (in brackets - 966th):

✅ working volume - 746 (887) cubic meters. cm
✅ power – 23 (27/30) hp
✅ fuel consumption – 6,5 (5,5) l/100 km in combined cycle

But probably few people know that at a certain point there was a desire to equip a small car with an alternative power source. In the early 70s, this direction seemed very fashionable and promising. Although the USSR was almost not affected by the global fuel crisis, it was always considered a good idea to play it safe.



Let us recall that the mentioned fuel crisis broke out in 1973. And just a year later, an interesting and (as it seemed then) promising project ZAZ-965 Elektro appeared. Although, to be honest, the latter prefix is ​​nothing more than a clever journalistic trick.

Latvian project based on ZAZ-965

After all, it never got to the point of a series, so there was no special name. electric car did not manage to get a particularly small class. And all that is left of it is just dry information in the Zaporozhye museum "Phaeton", and materials in Latvijas Nacionalais arhivs, Autocentre. If the latter may seem a little strange to you, then we will immediately note:

✅ the project was not carried out at the Zaporizhzhya plant
✅ ZAZ-965 served only as a base
✅ RER engineers were brought in to do the work
✅ A prototype of a compact electric car was born in Riga

As you can see, everything new is well forgotten old. And the desire for electric mobility half a century ago caused no less jealousy than today. But if today the alternative drive is clearly winning, then what was missing in the 70s to gain the upper hand over its gasoline counterparts?


Let's start with the fact that the implementation of the idea was approached in the most thorough manner. After all, the Union's leading specialists in railway design were involved in it. Transport - Riga Electric Machine Building Plant.

Local engineers had enormous experience and very extensive resources. Therefore, there is no doubt that everything was done at the highest technological level. But why did they choose ZAZ-965? I think there were several reasons:

✅ growing popularity of the model
✅ simple design and accessibility for alteration
✅ small parameters and weight

The last points cannot be considered unimportant either. After all, at that time, providing batteries with a large energy reserve, but compact dimensions, seemed an impossible task. Even for such aces as the engineers of the Riga RER.

Technical research and solutions

And by taking the "humpbacked" model, which weighs less than one ton, as a base model, they got a number of advantages. Moreover, the original layout was also preserved. The rear part of the experimental electric vehicle compactly accommodated:

✅ alternative drive
✅ transmission
✅ leading axle with independent rear suspension

For this purpose, the standard place in the rear stern, designed back in the 50s by NAMI engineers, was quite sufficient. The high class of Riga specialists allowed them to create an advanced electronic circuit for its time, based on thyristor connections.

It is interesting that they simply anticipated their time, because half a century later their colleagues use a similar type, which allows for excellent energy savings in batteries. Such a progressive solution significantly increased the autonomy of the prototype. As the surviving documents assure, it reached approximately 130 kilometers, which would be considered quite a decent result even today. For the mid-70s, these were figures that the creators could be proud of.


Having reviewed the entire list of positive aspects, it would seem: go ahead, let's quickly go into serial production! After all, there was not a single serious remark about the created design. Nevertheless, it remained in the form of developments on paper and the only experimental (not preserved) sample. And there were several reasons for such an outcome:

✅ too long recharging of existing batteries
✅ affordable price of gasoline maintained in the USSR
✅ no influence of factors such as advertising or PR

So the project of a Soviet electric car of a particularly small class, competently prepared by high-level Riga specialists, was simply put on the back burner. And it was never taken out again because of its apparent uselessness.

Modern versions of electric cars ZAZ-965

On the other hand, the desired goals were achieved. The RER engineers who took part in the project received their due rewards. As did other specialists who had a hand in it. Or the high-ranking officials who supervised the process.

And the main thing is not even this. What is more important is that we have once again proven to the whole world (and ourselves, too): we can do it – if necessary. And our industry and specialists are no worse than Western ones. Moreover, the ZAZ electric car has experimentally demonstrated an autonomy of as much as 130 kilometers. So you can put everything under the floor and calmly rest on your laurels.


And if we draw a parallel with the present, then in the post-Soviet space today there are many practically implemented projects for the creation of electric cars based on the "humpback". And the photos accompanying this material are the best confirmation of this. But this, as the classics of the screen say, is a completely different story.