Soviet AZLK and VAZ engines with a volume of 1,8 liters - they never became serial

Soviet engines for passenger cars can be divided into two conditional categories. The first is the small ones. Motors were installed on ZAZ, VAZ and AZLK. Their volume was up to 1,6 liters.


The second category is "Volgov" engines. They were never considered "folk", because GAZ cars were not freely sold. Therefore, these motors were not available to a wide range of consumers.

But what about the "Nivovsky" power unit, you ask. After all, the engine with the VAZ-21213 index has a volume of 1,7 liters. "People's" rumor says that the motor has been produced since 1977 with almost no changes. But if you remember the history, it turns out that the VAZ-21213 power unit appeared after the collapse of the USSR. Therefore, it cannot be considered Soviet.


But in the second half of the 80s, engineers were working on new engines - with a volume of 1,8 liters. Such motors were needed by the largest passenger car factories in the USSR - VAZ and AZLK. And each of the enterprises coped with the task by making their own engines.

Unfortunately, none of these power units has become serial. The collapse of the Soviet Union prevented.

Two rival friends

Moskvich and Zhiguli are eternal competitors. From the very beginning, VAZ cars were considered the best. They were chosen for:

✅ Dynamics
✅ Modern design
✅ Kudos

The fault that "Moskvich" are outdated lies entirely with the leadership of the country. The AZLK plant was not financed for new models.


But there were so many experienced cars and interesting prototypes! If they were all launched into mass production, then they could give odds to foreign cars. But "from above" judged differently. Since people buy cars and even have to sign up for them in a queue - why change something, investing money in re-equipment?


As for the new 1,8-liter engine, it is now difficult to figure out who first started developing it. Someone refers to AZLK, opponents claim that it was VAZ that was initially concerned about this problem.


One thing can be said with certainty - the engineers of both enterprises have clearly repeatedly produced experimental engines with an increased volume. Each plant had its own design office.

Push from outside

AvtoVAZ and AZLK were commissioned to develop a new engine in 1986. It all started with the Moskvich-2141 model, which was demonstrated in August.

Everyone liked the car, with one exception. Under the hood of the prototype was an outdated UZAM-412 engine, which had been produced since 1967. Of course, the power unit was repeatedly modernized, but it did not become more modern from this.


Therefore, the Minavtoprom announced a competition for the creation of an engine with a volume of 1,8 liters. Such a power unit was needed not only by AZLK. AvtoVAZ also needed a more powerful engine - for the Niva.

The new power unit was supposed to be installed on Soviet passenger cars of three brands:

✅ VAZ
✅ AZLK
✅ Izhmash

The Volzhsky Automobile Plant, as the largest and most modern enterprise, was instructed to develop the motor.

AZLK did not like it - they arbitrarily undertook to make their own motor, informing the country's leadership. As a result, I had to create a competition.


The most interesting thing is that VAZ was supposed to win it - this was implied unconditionally. Indeed, despite the attempts of the AZLK design bureau, most of their projects of the last decade lost to their main competitors. Moreover, regardless of the potential and level of performance.

The legend of the old developments of AZLK

It is believed that "Moskvich" was still the first in the development of a new engine. Say, work on power units with a volume of 1,8 or even 2,0 liters has been carried out since the mid-70s. Recall that at that time the designers tried to create a new line of C-series cars.

They succeeded, although the machines were produced only in a few prototypes. It was they who later became the basis for the model with the index 2141. By the way, the Moskvich-C3 prototype had a 2,0-liter engine under the hood and an appearance reminiscent of the Swedish SAAB.


And the new production car, presented to the government in 1986, was developed taking into account the emergence of a more modern engine. The designers understood that the 1,5-liter UZAM for Moskvich-2141 was frankly weak. Yes, and the famous "six" engine with a volume of 1,6 liters. also outdated.

It turns out that this is not such a legend - talk about the development of a promising power unit at AZLK.

Test

The engines were made in a hurry. Especially for this, temporary design teams were organized at AZLK and VAZ. Ready samples for the competition appeared about six months later.

Engine tests took place in the spring of 1987. Oddly enough, the engines from AZLK won the competition. VAZ engineers immediately began to make excuses that the competitors had acted dishonestly. After all, the British from the Ricardo company, who by some miracle managed to be hired in Soviet times, helped them refine the engines.


AZLK designers proudly retorted that foreign specialists only helped to refine the power unit. In general, the British admired the new Soviet engines, claiming that they would be successful in Europe.

Why didn't it become serial?

Engineers and the management of AvtoVAZ argued to the last that the victory of Moskvich was a typical example of bureaucracy. The director of AZLK was a member of the Central Committee of the CPSU, and he was supported along the party line. The new engines were unfinished, so they were not launched into the series.


But it was planned that about 240 thousand engines per year would be produced, including 1/3 of this number of diesel engines. It is believed that it was precisely because of the purchase of new equipment that AZLK could not recover after the collapse of the USSR. And this seems to be true - for the production of motors they spent several hundred million dollars in equivalent.

What happened next

Later, AZLK designers nevertheless developed new engines for Moskvich-2141 with a volume of 1-7 and 1,8 liters. But these were completely different power units. Not modern, but made on the basis of old UZAMs, which were simply squandered for a larger volume.


By the way, here lies another reason for the victory in the 1987 competition of AZLK engines. They had really new engines, and not another revision of the old power units. And no connections of the Moskvich director played a role here. Moreover, the victory in the competition proves that AZLK engines were several levels superior to samples from AvtoVAZ.


The motors were tested on prototypes, and the final result was ready in January 1990. This power unit is recorded in the annals of history as the VAZ-322, 16-valve.


Although the cost of serial production of the new engine was ten times less than that of AZLK, the project could not be implemented. All the same collapse of the Soviet Union interfered - a disaster for all the factories of a huge country.

If you analyze the history, it becomes clear that AvtoVAZ and AZLK were able to create their new engines in the early 90s. They would certainly have done it if the country had not collapsed.

And which motors are the best - time would show. Most likely, "Moscow". After all, it was a new promising family, designed for decades of improvements.