ZAZ-969

Developing ideas from the unbuilt Moskvitch 415 prototype, designers used the LuAZ-967 as a basis for a four-wheel drive. vehicle[1] They added a body to the LuAZ's bare form, and fitted a 30 hp (22 kW; 30 PS) 887 cc (54.1 cu in) MeMZ-966 air-cooled four-cylinder engine.[1] No other mechanical changes were made.[1]

Its pioneering (for a Soviet car) front wheel drive was due to a lack of drivable rear axles from the supplier, which was giving priority to the LuAZ-967.[2] Nevertheless, the ZAZ-969 performed well, with a weight of only 1,340 kg (2,950 lb) (thanks in part to a soft top) and an 1,800 mm (71 in) wheelbase.[3] The transmission was a four-speed.[3]

A pre-production batch of fifty was created in 1965, dubbed ZAZ-969, and production was authorized in 1966 as the ZAZ-969V.[1] It was built by ZAZ until 1971, when LuAZ took over.[1] When LuAZ took over production (making it the LuAZ-969), four-wheel drive became standard.[3] In 1975, the LuAZ-969A replaced the original LuAZ-969, offering a new 40 hp (30 kW; 41 PS) 1,197 cc (73.0 cu in) MeMZ-969 four-cylinder engine.[3] It survived until 1979.[3] This was followed by a hard-top panel van version in 1977, known as the LuAZ-969F, with a 400 kg (880 lb) payload, which was only built in small quantities.[3]

LuAZ began developing a replacement for the LuAZ-969A in 1974, the LuAZ-969M; it entered production in 1979.[3] It was named Volin, for the region around Lutsk (where the factory was located).[3] It retained the 40 hp (30 kW; 41 PS) engine, but changed to disk brakes with servo assist.[3] Door locks were added.[3] Folding windshield was standard.[3]

LuAZ-969

Exports were limited, though it proved popular in Italy, where Martorelli also offered it with a Ford engine.[3]

• Thompson, Andy (2008). Cars of the Soviet Union. Haynes Publishing. ISBN 978-1844254835.