Soviet cars that shone in international rallies

Soviet motorsport at first existed on bare enthusiasm. There were few cars, so in the 20-30s they raced more on motorcycles. Pilots were especially fond of two-wheeled vehicles - they were always distinguished by courage, bordering on recklessness in the eyes of onlookers.


As for automobile competitions, they were officially recognized only in the second half of the 30s. First it was racing, then rallying. Here we will try to tell in detail about the competitions of the last type today. Although, the main characters of the article will be cars - serial, but modified for the rally.

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Sports in the USSR were loved and promoted in every possible way at the state level. Stadiums were built, numerous sports sections appeared, where they were recorded almost by force at factories and plants. It is not difficult to explain this - after all, a person who plays sports is healthy, cheerful and cheerful.


But with car racing, especially professional ones, somehow it didn’t work out for several reasons:

✅ Small number of cars in the country
✅ Such a hobby was considered a bourgeois relic
✅ The party did not see the need for this

However, the enthusiasts eventually managed to convince the “helmsmen” that the competition was necessary. Thanks to them, you can quickly identify design flaws and make changes. After all, the Soviet auto industry in the second half of the 30s was no worse than the European one and copied the American one.

The first state-level races were held on trucks. And on passenger models they began to compete already in the 50s. But at first the races were held at the local level. The state looked at these competitions through its fingers.

Entering the international arena

The European Rally Championship was launched by the FIA ​​in the early 1950s. Even Soviet athletes could participate in them. Only there were no such people in the USSR. Therefore, the state paid attention to enthusiasts.


If someone does not understand what it was for, it is worth explaining. They wanted to sell cars abroad. But there "Moskvich" and "Victory" were unknown to anyone. Participation in the rally could make them popular.


In 1956, the Soviet Automobile Club officially became a member of the FIA. Since that time, teams from the USSR began to participate in most rallies.

The first cars that began to be used from the Soviet side are the GAZ-21 Volga and Moskvich-402/407. Unfortunately, these machines had nothing to oppose to competitors. "Moskvich" was just underpowered, and "Volga" was too heavy. Due to the forcing of engines, the resource of cars suffered - often they could not even reach the finish line.

"Muscovites"

Now it seems incredible, but cars from the Moscow plant were chosen as rally models. There were no other options in the early 60s. "Zaporozhets" was not suitable because of the primitive design, low reliability and power. Zhiguli did not exist at that time. As for the Volga, these cars were not suitable because of their severity. It was more like a business class by modern standards, it has nothing to do in a rally.


Therefore, the USSR national team was formed at the MZMA plant, later renamed AZLK. The most important "star" of the rally was the Moskvich-412. First of all, this happened thanks to the UZAM-412 motor, new for its time.

He withstood boost up to 150 hp. With. staying reliable. Therefore, cars could compete with models of European and American brands.

Surprisingly, in the London-Sydney rally, the USSR team took 4th place in the overall standings. Modest and budget sedans "Moskvich" competed on equal terms with Ford, BMW, Mercedes and other famous brands.


It was the victories in the rally that made the Soviet models from AZLK mega-popular in Europe. Many drivers dreamed of getting behind the wheel of a sports car, but they were too expensive. And then the budget "Moskvich"! Therefore, in some years, the AZLK plant supplied more than 50% of its products for export. So do not be dismissive of the once popular Moskvich-412. This car is deservedly considered a rally star.

"Lada"

The appearance of VAZ models was greeted with enthusiasm by Soviet motorists. And how could it be otherwise - they finally got a modern car. The first models in general were essentially Italian, slightly adapted to the realities of the USSR.


By the way, they said in vain that Fiat was spoiled in the USSR. In fact, the VAZ-2101/03 turned out to be much more reliable than the original Italian models.
In the rally "Kopeyka" debuted shortly after the start of mass production. In 1971, this car has already participated in the Tour d'Europe. By the way, these competitions were held on the territory of the Soviet Union for the first time.

VAZ-2101 unexpectedly turned out to be the leader in the class, ahead of the Moskvich. Of course, the dynamics of the Zhiguli won, but no one thought that the essentially Italian car would be able to withstand all the difficulties of the rally.

Of course, it is worth thanking the Soviet athletes for winning the VAZ-2101. They have thoroughly modified the car.

Degradation

Toward the end of the 70s, it became clear that even the most modern VAZ cars were beginning to lose to foreign brands. There is nothing to say about Moskvich - by that time they were hopelessly outdated.


The problem was exacerbated by the change in the concept of the rally. If earlier it was long marathons for thousands of kilometers, where reliability was required from cars, then in the late 70s everything became different. Now most of the competitions were held on closed tracks.

Now the cars required a high maximum speed and hurricane dynamics. Of course, it was not worth waiting for all this from the serial ones, even with the forced Zhiguli engines. So the Soviet athletes gradually slipped in the standings. In the 80s they were ranked 20th to 30th as a rule.

Separately, it is worth mentioning the VAZ-2121 Niva. This car also took part in the rally more than once. But the winners were cars modified by the French importer Lada Poch. They had nothing to do with Soviet teams, and their cars were very different from serial ones. Why did the French need it? Business and popularization of their product - VAZ cars.


The famous Lada Samara T3 has little in common with the serial "Eight". These cars were also prepared specially for the rally by the engineers of the importer Lada Poch, who stubbornly traded Soviet cars in France.

the end

The second half of the 80s was the sunset for rally sports in the Soviet Union. Although AvtoVAZ and AZLK released front-wheel drive models, they still remained obsolete. The main participant in the competition of that time was the VAZ-2108.


The model with the index 29081 had little in common with the serial "Eight". Its power reached 160 liters. s., but this was still not enough. And the final point in this whole long story was the FIA ​​ban on Group B.

In 1990-1991, the AZLK plant was still trying to return to world rallies, but it had no chance. Moskvich-2141 was not suitable for sports at all, even after a number of improvements.

The collapse of the Soviet Union finally completed the picture. The state stopped supporting auto racing - it was not up to it. However, some of them played for foreign teams for a long time, but that's a completely different story...