How a commercial move with Moskvich made them the leaders of the British Touring Championship

The first cars in our country more than 100 years ago began to arrive from abroad. They were paid for from the royal treasury, and only close people could use them. The first own AMO appeared on the eve of the revolution. As well as half a century later, Italian FIAT provided technical assistance in setting up production.


Years and decades passed, and the Soviet auto industry from an imitator and buyer slowly became a supplier of products for other countries. Of course, in general, the desire to acquire Soviet technology was expressed by the technically underdeveloped countries of the so-called. "second world". But I wanted to show off in the European market. To do this seemed to be a daunting task: after all, our automotive products, to put it mildly, were inferior to the leading German, Italian or German models. And then they used a great marketing ploy.


The fact that there was no commerce in the USSR did not mean that there were no merchants there. People with an enterprising streak sometimes found excellent use for themselves in the institutes of Vneshtorg. Yes, we simply couldn't do without them. These guys have figured that if our cars do not want to take because of the quality or design (because, for the most part, the lack of both), then "we will go the other way."

Yes, you can simply offer such a low price that the client will not be able to refuse. No sooner said than done, and you can easily recoup losses by slightly increasing the cost of cars in the domestic market. Soviet people, in conditions of auto shortage, will begin to spit, but they will still buy. Who would have thought what side effects this cunning move would lead to.

"Moskvich-412" for Europe - at the price of the most seedy minicar

In order for the Soviet Moskvich to be bought for sure, it was offered for the British market at the price of a local MINI Cooper. Recall that the cost of the latter in the domestic market did not exceed 600 pounds. At one time, the Japanese wanted to “wrestle” with the British by releasing the Honda N600 and offering a minicar at a similar price. Both of these cars are close to our "humpback" in terms of the volume of the working engine. The Moskvich, which had twice the power unit, was also priced below 600 pounds in Foggy Albion.


And now, it's time to get to the heart of the matter. In the British Isles in the late 60s, there were many motorsport competitions. Among them there was also a touring championship on modified versions of serial crews. It has been running since 1958. According to the rules of these races, cars were distributed not by volume or engine power, but by ... price. Captured the moment? Yes, some local cunning also did not fail to use it.



As you can see, the group was the lowest, real rivals simply did not exist. It only remained to wait for a cunning British pilot who would drive a car assembled in the capital of our country. We didn't have to wait long, it was Tony Lafranchi, who already had experience in racing "formulas" "three" and "one".

Racing injury: there would be no happiness, but misfortune helped

By the age of thirty, Tony was considered an experienced pilot and took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans races and the British Formula 3 championship. He did not achieve much success, he was such a strong middle peasant. Most likely, his career would have remained unnoticed by the general public, if not for the injury received during the accident. Its result was a ban on driving high-speed cars. It was a dark time for the driver when he had to think about something much more modest.

Lafranchi found out about the Moskvich and the loophole in the rules and decided to compensate for his current deplorable state in this way. Realizing that the victory is absolutely in his pocket, the racer contacted a British dealer of Soviet equipment and persuaded him to make a team of three cars. Having persuaded their friends, they went to the track in order to carry out a win-win adventure in advance.


It is clear that few people wanted to embarrass themselves by driving cars like our ZAZ-965 (and these were the group D). Therefore, there was a shortage of racing crews, and if there were less than four of them, then the winner of the race could not count on the maximum number of points earned. This became an obstacle to the struggle for leadership in the overall standings. That is why Lafranchi always took with him a few friends from among those who:

✅ was at hand
✅ knew how to drive
✅ had free time

Among his associates there was even the director of one of the race tracks! In general, as they say, the usual "gentlemen of fortune" who want to take advantage of the imperfection of the rules. And they succeeded. Tony, as a leader and an experienced rider, literally dominated the track. Of the 29 races, he could not win only one. It's just that the rider, relaxed by the situation, acted in a very foppish way.

The weather was rainy and a wet track awaited the participants. Despite this, a man with a sense of clear superiority (by that time he had already won a whole bunch of races), acted very imprudently. He reminded me of the wolf from "Just you wait!" Who didn't want to buckle up in a training plane and then flew out of it several times. Lafranchi was also too lazy to change the rubber, believing that it would do anyway. Such carelessness cost him victory and unconditional leadership in all racing races.


True, in the end, such a puncture did not prevent him from becoming a clear winner in his group. But, the fun didn't end there. In each group, points were awarded for victories, which later helped determine the overall winner. The hegemony of "Moskvich" helped their pilot easily bypass the famous BMW 2002 Tii and Ford Capri 3 GT. Yes, the pilot of the "four hundred and twelfth" became the absolute champion of the competition!

Further progress and increase in exports

As you understand, this was not the last success of the racers. As long as the rules remained unchanged, it was easy to participate in races and also, without much effort, become their winner. Tony also won first place in the 1973 and 1974 seasons.

And he never left his foppish manners. Giving an interview, the athlete boasted that he rode during the races in complete "relaxation":

✅ calmly observed the landscape
✅ one hand was exposed to an open window
✅ to create a pleasant atmosphere, the radio was always on

Lafranchi understood that even from a modified car, he could not squeeze more than 145 km / h. And for him, such speeds, given the racing past, were nothing more than measured walking. So light rider won victory after victory. And in order to better get used to the slightly “oakish” car, the athlete also used it on daily trips. His colleagues Horsfield and Stubbs also tried to imitate him, also speaking at the Moskvich.


Participation and victory in these races, as well as performances in the rally, which I wrote about in past materials, could not go unnoticed. Soviet cars began to show more respect. Everyone saw that in addition to the low price, Moskvich-412 offered its owner reliability and endurance. This led to the fact that the number of export cars exceeded their number sold on the domestic market. Sometimes their number reached from 60 to 75% of the total annual output.