Unknown "Oka" - ElAZ, electric cars, engines from "Zaporozhets" and diesel

There were many small cars in the Soviet Union, but no one even called the Zaporozhets that way. All passenger cars were considered full-fledged even by ZAZ, especially after the cessation of production of the 965th model, that same “Hunchback”.


Only in 1988 did a full-fledged small car again appear - the VAZ-1111 Oka. The car was supposed to become public, but gained fame as a limited edition, although they collected about 700 thousand copies.

In addition to the serial model, as it turned out, the Oka was produced in other, little-known versions. These cars did not go to the assembly line - the collapse of the Soviet Union prevented. But among them were interesting and promising modifications.

ElAZ-1121

When the VAZ-1111 "Oka" began to be put into serial production, one of the officials came up with the idea to create a new small car, but already better adapted to Soviet reality.


It was supposed to be a full-fledged five-door car with an engine of its own design. Instead of a half engine from the VAZ-2108, the model received a 0,82-liter power unit with a power of 40 hp. With.

ElAZ-1121 was planned to be produced at a tractor plant in Yelabuga. Its own engine was supposed to provide the compact car with dynamics no worse than that of the Tavria, ideally like the VAZ-2108.

To simplify the work, it was decided to turn to the Italians - the Fiat concern. They have long established partnerships with the Soviet Union - they helped build and launch AvtoVAZ.


Since there were no developments on the engine, and I didn’t want to install the unit from Zaporozhets or Tavria, it was decided to follow the path of the VAZ-2108. Recall that this car helped to "bring to mind" specialists from Porsche.


Since the ElAZ-1121 was developed by design engineers from Tolyatti, they turned to the Germans, who helped with the new engine. Although, prototypes of Porsche power units were not made - they just prompted.

In 1991, ElAZ-1121 was supposed to be on the conveyor. Only this did not happen - the Soviet Union lived out its last days, and then completely collapsed. Until 1993, experts were still trying to do something, but the project remained at the development stage.

Experienced electric cars on the Oka chassis

In the second half of the 1980s, the AvtoVAZ design bureau worked on the creation of electric city cars. It's not strange that Oka was chosen for this role.

The appearance of the VAZ-1111E coincided with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Instead of abandoning promising developments, specialists from Togliatti decided to reorient themselves to Western countries and offer affordable urban electric cars to them.

Already in 1992, the experimental "Oka" VAZ-1111E was announced at the Swiss rally Tour de Sol. This event is notable for the fact that cars with electric motors participate in it. No charging was provided along the way - only solar panels.


The Russian car immediately won second place in the Swiss rally, which prompted AvtoVAZ designers to work further. They continued until 2001.

During this time, designers have created several dozen prototypes. Some of them took part in various specialized rallies for electric cars. In these races, VAZ-1111E cars repeatedly won prizes, and once even received the Solar Cup Denmark.

American "Oka"

Few people know, but in 2007 an attempt was made in the United States to create their own car based on the VAZ-1111. There is no record of who came up with such a strange idea, but Oka Auto USA was created in Nevada specifically for this project.

There is an opinion that the owner of the company is a person who moved from the USSR or Russia and is well aware of the cheapness of the VAZ-1111. The commercial name for "Oka" for the US was Oka NEV ZEV.


Nothing special was used in the design of the car. In terms of the type of work, it resembled the electric carts known to all Soviet citizens used in large markets and factories.


Naturally, with such low power, the speed of the electric car was not impressive. It was only 40 km / h with a similar power reserve. However, it was enough to go to the store, as well as to work and back, subject to movement in his hometown.

The cost of Oka NEV ZEV ranged from 8 to 10 thousand dollars. In Russia, this car with a gasoline engine at that time was offered from 4 "American rubles". At about the same price, the model cost the VAZ-500 to Oka Auto USA. The difference for buying a model without an engine was “eaten up” by transportation across the ocean. How much it took to re-equip - history is silent, but obviously no more than 1111 thousand dollars.


It is unlikely that the Oka NEV ZEV project has become commercially successful. It is not known how many cars the manufacturer managed to convert, but even local auto experts do not know about such electric cars in the United States.

"Ocataurs"

Despite the small dimensions of the base "Oka", the owners often complained about the lack of power of the "native" motor. In 2002, the Astro-car company from Naberezhnye Chelny decided to improve the VAZ-1111 by introducing an engine from Tavria under the hood. This motor is known under the index MeMZ-245 and has a working volume of 1,1 liters.

The power unit was deformed for the 80th gasoline, because the car was budget. Power dropped from 53 to 49 hp. With.


Although, in fact, the Octataurs were ordinary alterations, the manufacturer tried to draw up all the technical documentation, so that the cars could be registered without problems.


The manufacturer has mastered not only carburetor, but also injection modifications. They turned out to be more dynamic and economical.

The Astro-car company tried to make an elongated version of the Oka, known as Alsou. Work was carried out to introduce MeMZ-2457 and MeMZ-307 engines under the hood, with a volume of 1,2 and 1,3 liters, respectively. Only things did not go further than prototypes and prototypes - such cars did not go on sale.

Racing versions of the Oka

It seems ridiculous, but sports cars were assembled on the VAZ-1111 chassis. Moreover, one of them was not even experienced, but small-scale.


Why were small cars needed in sports? And how to train young riders? Despite its modest size, "Oka" had protective arches and sports seats with four-point belts.

Diesel commercial modifications

The designers liked to modernize the Oka. They even made a semi-frame truck with the ZMA-1901 index on its chassis. In addition to the side body at the rear, the car received a 18-liter D0,7A diesel engine.

The idea was good, but the era of heavy fuel cars for Russia had not yet come, as it is now. Therefore, the ZMA-1901 model remained experimental.


But inexpensive vans VAZ-17013 "Toima", equipped with standard gasoline engines, were produced on an ongoing basis, albeit not for long.

VAZ-1111 "Oka" did not become a mass car, beloved by everyone. For this, he appeared too late - in 1988, when foreign cars had already begun to be imported into the USSR.

If the model had debuted 10 years earlier, it would have become popular. Like it or not, Oka is technically more advanced than Zaporozhets, which did not suffer from a lack of demand.