ZiS-112 - the first full-fledged Soviet sports car

In the first years, motorsport was not recognized at all in the USSR. It was believed that these were bourgeois prejudices, alien to the Soviet citizen. But already in the 1930s the situation changed. Truck racing was first legalized. The justification was simple: these were the kind of cars the country needed to develop its economy. How can you test them if not at races? After all, the latter in the 30s meant rallies, often over rough terrain. During the struggle, the riders tested the safety margin at 100%, and the mechanics learned to quickly fix problems. First of all, car factory workers took part in the races. And then the taxi drivers got involved. They started competing in passenger cars.


The first conventional sports car was the ZiS-101. They didn’t do much to alter it, especially since the races were supposed to be linear. This means that you had to drive almost in a straight line to a certain point, then turn around and rush back. The first cars were not particularly different from production models, but they were gradually modernized. And the ZiS-112 became a real sports car. The body for it was designed by artist-designer Valentin Rostkov. The two-seater model had only one headlight - but a large one. Soviet racing fans immediately aptly dubbed the car “Cyclops”. And they will talk about it on the “PrivetTachka” channel. Unfortunately, the car has not survived to this day. But there is a ZiS-110 - it was on its basis that a sports car was made.