It is generally accepted that in the USSR cars were very simple, utilitarian and slow-moving. But in reality this is far from the case. The review presents the first Russian and soviet cars, created specifically for racing and speed records.
Most of them complicated story creations and a difficult path to success.
Racing cars from the Russo-Balt plant
In the 1910s there were very few cars in Russia, but the first races were already held. As in Europe, rallies became the main type of competition. In those years, racing tracks were not yet built, and competitions were held on ordinary roads over long distances. Cars for competitions were also often made on the basis serial models. The first racing car in Russia can be called the Russo-Balt S24, which existed in several versions. 
And if the first modifications looked like ordinary two-seater cars, then the C24/58 became the first special prototype. The large, sleek, green car was nicknamed the “Russian Cucumber.” Its 4.9-liter engine developed a record 58 hp for that time. The maximum speed of the car is 120 -130 km/h.
The car was prepared for one-mile racing. The acetylene lights, fenders, bumpers, running boards, spare tanks, and canvas folding top were removed from the car - and the weight was almost halved.
Russo-Balt cars performed well at competitions both in Russia and abroad. After particularly successful races, sales of new cars increased noticeably. 
For many years, a situation developed in the country where there was no time for motorsport. And then amateurs took on the cars. In the late 1930s, several enthusiasts assembled their own versions of racing cars. In 1937, on the Zhitomir highway near Kiev, they staged a kilometer race, where Girel's GAZ-A, Tsypulin's GAZ-TsAKS, Zharov's GAZ-A and Kleshchev's GAZ-A met. These were all outdated cars GAZ-A chassis, with old 4-cylinder engines. As a result, the all-Union speed records they set did not even reach the record of Tsarist Russia: 142.5 km/h.
ZIS-101A-Sport
In 1938, in the experimental workshop of the Moscow Plant named after Stalin, three young workers began proactive development sports car mobile They took the best one as a basis Soviet limousine ZIS-101. True, it's not best base for a sports car - after all, it weighs 2.5 tons, but Komsomol members can’t handle that much.
The in-line 8-cylinder engine ZIS-101 was boosted. With an increase in displacement from 5.8 to 6.1 liters, power increased by one and a half times - from 90 to 141 hp.
The car was shown to I.V. Stalin. He, like other members of the Politburo, liked the car. The ZIS-101A-Sport was tested on the highway, its maximum speed is 168 km/h.
Pobeda-Sport (GAZ-SG1)
The design of his own Soviet car for setting speed records was entrusted to aviation engineer A.A. Smolin. Under his leadership, the new Soviet car M20 Pobeda underwent a number of transformations. The new body was made of duralumin, the roof was lowered, and the tail was made pointed. “Nostrils” appeared on the hood lid for better air intake. The bottom of the car turned out to be completely flat. As a result, it turned out to be very light - only 1200 kg.
The car was equipped with a 2.5-liter GAZ engine. In the most productive version, with a Roots compressor, maximum power increased to 105 hp, and speed - up to 190 km/h.
A total of five cars were built, which set new all-Union speed records for long-distance driving.
Star
“Zvezda” is the first car in the USSR built specifically for sports. A car with a 350 cc motorcycle engine. cm accelerated to 139.6 km/h. Reasons for success: lightweight aluminum body with very good aerodynamics and unusual engine Zoller power 30.6 hp. Subsequently, the machine was improved, prototypes “Zvezda”-2, 3, 3M, M-NAMI, 5, 6 were created, which repeatedly set all-Union and world records in different classes.
Sokol-650
In the 1940s, immediately after the war, a Formula 2 racing car was developed at a joint Soviet-German enterprise. The engineers who created the Auto-Union racing cars, which conquered European tracks before the war, worked on it. The Sokol-650 model made its first trips in 1952. Vasily Stalin himself supervised the development of the machine. Two fully finished cars were delivered to Moscow to participate in the race. But local mechanics were unable to service such complex equipment, and the Sokol-650 did not prove itself on the track. Although the 12-cylinder 2-liter engine was capable of accelerating the 790-kilogram car to 260 km/h.
GAZ Torpedo (1951)
After experiments on creating a sports car Pobeda-Sport, the next project of GAZ engineer A. Smolin was “Torpedo” (SG2) - a car of a completely original design. The teardrop-shaped body, 6.3 meters long, was made of aviation materials: duralumin and aluminum. Thanks to this, the weight turned out to be small - only 1100 kg. From others sports cars The 1950s Torpedo was distinguished by its ease of control and maneuverability.
The engine was taken from the Pobeda M20: 4-cylinder, bored out to 2.5 liters of displacement. A Roots compressor was also installed on it. At a rotation speed of 4000 rpm, the engine produced 105 hp. Thanks to good aerodynamics, the GAZ Torpedo car showed a maximum speed of 191 km/h.
GAZ-TR
The SG3 car, also known as TR (“turbojet”), was built at the Gorky Automobile Plant in 1954. The development of engineer Smolin was aimed at setting a new world record for maximum speed among cars. With an engine from the MiG-17 fighter with a power of 1000 hp, GAZ TR, according to the project, could reach 700 km/h. Testing of the vehicle ended in an accident due to the lack of tires with the required qualities in the USSR.
ZIS-112
Looking at the success of sports cars Gorky Automobile Plant, in Moscow at the ZIS plant they also decided to make their own version. The resulting car amazed everyone. The six-meter car, made in the spirit of American dream cars, was dubbed the “Cyclops” for its characteristic appearance– a round radiator grille and a round headlight in its center. As in the case of the ZIS-101A-Sport, the car turned out to be very heavy, weighing as much as 2.5 tons.
Instead of the base 140-horsepower engine, engineers installed an experimental 8-cylinder in-line engine. Gradually improving it, by 1954 the power was increased to 192 hp. With this engine, the maximum speed of the car increased to a phenomenal 210 km/h. The car that took part in the race turned out to be a complete failure: Axle weight distribution and handling were considered unsatisfactory. The Soviet Union needed more maneuverable vehicles.
In 1957, the Moscow plant introduced new versions of its racing cars - ZIL-112/4 and 112/5. They had a body made of fiberglass, with suspension from a ZIS-110 limousine. Engine from ZIS-111 with power up to 220 hp. accelerated the car to 240 km/h. In 1957-1961. “Zilovsky” racers won many awards, including the national championship and vice-championship.
In the early 1960s, the ZIL-112S was manufactured. Its elegant fiberglass body followed the contours of the most modern European racing cars at that time. 6 liter carburetor engine The V8 developed 240 hp, and the improved 7.0-liter version was boosted to 300 hp. The car was equipped with modern disc brakes, which quickly slowed down a car weighing 1330 kg from a maximum speed of 260-270 km/h. In 1965, racer Gennady Zharkov, driving a ZIL-112S, became the champion of the USSR.
One of the ZIL-112S cars has survived to this day and is now on display automobile museum in Riga.
Moskvich-404 Sport
Looking at the success of sports GAZ and ZIS, the management of the Moscow plant could not stand aside small cars. Their serial cars, "Muscovites", were low-powered and quite heavy. But even on their basis, sports prototypes were built. In 1954, Moskvich-404 Sport was created. The 1.1-liter engine with four carburetors produced a modest 58 hp, which accelerated the car to 150 km/h.
KD
A car called KD Sport 900 is not the work of Italian designers, but just a homemade product. In 1963, a team of enthusiasts began work on a series of five cars of their own design. The fiberglass body hid the units of the “humpbacked Zaporozhets” ZAZ-965. 30 horsepower engine air cooling accelerated the car to 120 km/h. This is a modest result by today's standards, but considerable speed for a car of those years.
Cars of the Kharkov Automobile and Road Institute
In 1951-1952, a small group of HADI students began designing a sports car. The task was to build a car with maximum use units of existing equipment. The car was made according to the “formula” model - open wheels, a body made of welded pipes, a 30-horsepower M-72 motorcycle engine. The first car of the famous Kharkov University reached a speed of 146 km/m.
In 1962 in the Laboratory fast cars HADI has developed a project for the world's smallest racing car. In a car weighing only 180 kilograms, the pilot could sit lying down, which ensured very good streamlining. It was planned that the 500 cc engine with small dimensions and weight would allow it to accelerate to 220 km/h. Unfortunately, when testing the prototype on the plain of the Baskunchak salt lake (the Soviet analogue of Bonneville), the “maximum speed” was only 100 km/h. The new technology of tireless wheels turned out to be flawed.
Year after year in the Laboratory sports cars HADI developed a new experimental technology. Some of the samples turned out to be successful and set republican and all-Union speed records; tests of others resulted in the identification of deficiencies or accidents. The work of students and teachers of Kharkov University on new machines continues to this day.
Racing cars"Estonia"
The history of Soviet formula cars began with the 1952 Sokol-650 model. But these were one-off samples, moreover, built to order in Germany. But already in 1958, at the Tallinn experimental car repair plant, they began to build their own from domestic components. racing cars with open wheels. Each subsequent model became better than the previous one, reliability increased, aerodynamics improved, power and maximum speed of Estonia cars increased. Most lucky cars were built in series of dozens and even hundreds of copies.
Rally Moskvich-412
The Moskvich 412, produced since the 1960s, has become one of the most famous Soviet sports cars in the world. The car had phenomenal survivability and unpretentiousness. From 1968 to 1973 compact sedan performed at many international rallies. High places in the London-Sydney (16 thousand kilometers) and London-Mexico City (26 thousand kilometers) races they created good fame for the Soviet Moskvich, confirming its high reliability.
I decided to summarize the 3-episode I watched documentary with the same name. For me, many of the materials were news. Someone might also be interested. Someone can add words and photos.GL-1 (Lipgart Racing) - the most fast car in the pre-war USSR. The GL-1 car was created in 1938 on the basis of the GAZ M1, mass-produced since 1935. The forced engine had an increased compression ratio and an experimental cylinder head with an increased valve diameter. Its power was not 50 hp, like a regular Emka, but 65. The weight of the car was 1000 kg. On the Moscow highway in the city of Gorky October 21, 1938 Arkady Nikolaev walked one kilometer on the GL-1 while moving average speed 147.84 km/h.
In 1940, under the leadership of Evgeny Agitov, a new racing car was built on the GAZ-11 chassis with a 6-cylinder GAZ-11 engine 3485 cc, forced to 100 hp The weight of the car reached 1100 kg. During the official competition, Arkady Nikolaev set an absolute all-Union speed record - 161.87 km/h.Racing car GL-1.
Year of construction............1940
Engine power...100 hp
Weight......................1100 kg.
Max. speed.......161.87 km/h.ZiS-101A-Sport
In 1939, the design bureau of the ZiS experimental workshop developed its own Soviet sports car, the ZiS-101A-Sport. The car was equipped with an eight-cylinder ZiS-101 engine with an increased compression ratio and displacement (up to 6060 cm³) and power (up to 141 hp at 3300 rpm), a falling-flow carburetor was used for the first time, forged aluminum alloy connecting rods working along the journals crankshaft without liners. Stabilizers were used in the suspension lateral stability. For the first time in the USSR, a hypoid was used main gear. According to calculations, the car was supposed to reach 180 km/h, in tests the ZiS-101A-Sport showed 162.4 km/h.
Racing car ZiS-101A-Sport.
Year of construction............1939
Engine power...141 hp
Weight......................2000 kg.
Max. speed.........162.4 km/h.Record car "Zvezda"
In 1946, A. Peltzer began creating the first Soviet sports car, designed specifically for setting records. He chose the only correct path at that time - he began building a sports car with a two-stroke compressor engine from a motorcycle with a displacement of only two cylinders 342 cm. The first competitions in which Zvezda-1 participated took place November 5, 1946 on the Minsk highway near Moscow. The significance of these competitions was enormous - starting on the move at a distance of 1 kilometer, Zvezda-1, driven by A. Peltzer, showed an international class result based on the sum of two races - 139.643 km/h.
Racing car "Zvezda".
Year of construction............1946
Engine power...31 hp
Weight......................609 kg.
Max. speed.........139.643 km/h.Sports car "Pobeda-Sport"
Gorkovsky Automotive Factory also made attempts to create a high-speed car. The standard M20 body has undergone significant changes: the roof has been lowered by 160mm, fairings have appeared at the front and rear, but not made of steel, as on the pre-war GAZ-A-Aero and GAZ-GL1, but of light alloy. The wheels received shields, and the tail, in the best traditions of Nikitin, turned into a long elongated cone. In addition, additional “nostrils” appeared on the hood to cool the engine. The bottom was covered with a smooth tray. The volume of the serial lower-valve Pobedovsky engine was increased to 2487 cm3, the compression ratio increased to 7.0 units, two K-22A carburetors appeared. As a result of these changes, engine power increased to 75 hp at 4100 rpm The best of the forty-three crews was GAZ tester Mikhail Metelev (Torpedo-GAZ) on Pobeda-Sport N 11. He set new all-Union speed records at distances of 50, 100 and 300 km, respectively 159.929 km/h, 161.211 km/h and 145.858 km/h. IN 1951 year, three cars were equipped with Rutz rotary superchargers, two carburetors were replaced by one, but two-chamber - K-22. Thus, the maximum power increased to 105 hp, and the speed increased to 190 km/h!
Racing car "Pobeda-Sport".
Year of construction............1950-1955
Engine power...75-105 hp
Weight......................1200 kg.Sports car "ZiS-112"
The design of the car was truly avant-garde - in the spirit best traditions dream cars ("dream-car" - this is what concept cars were called in the mid-twentieth century): a huge, almost six-meter three-seater with a round radiator grille and a single headlight. At the factory the car was called “Cyclops” or “one-eyed”. Initially, the car was equipped with a serial 140-horsepower ZIS-110 engine. But for a sports car weighing almost two and a half tons (2450 kg), it was, to put it mildly, rather weak, and in the same year an experimental engine developed by Vasily Fedorovich Rodionov was installed on the ZIS-112. New eight-cylinder engine 6005 cm cube with upper inlet and lower exhaust valves, which made it possible to retain the old cylinder head, but with increased diameters intake valves, with two MKZ-LZ carburetors, developed a power of 182 hp at 3500 rpm. In addition, the following were provided: an oil cooler, two oil pump, manual control of ignition timing. The maximum speed was... 204 km/h!
Racing car "ZiS-112".
Year of construction............1951
Engine power...182 hp
Weight.........................2450 kg.
Max. speed......204 km/h.Racing car "ZIL-112/4"
In 1957, the designer V. Rodionov assembled the track ZIL-112/4. Car design features: V- figurative engine , fiberglass body. Cylinders - 8, engine displacement - 5980 cm3, power - 200 hp at 4200 rpm, gears - 3, length - 4.73 m, curb weight 1808 kg, speed - 230 km/h. in 1957 and 1960 the car won the USSR championship.
Racing car "ZIL-112/4".
Year of construction............1957
Engine power...200 hp
Weight.........................1808 kg.
Max. speed......230 km/h.Sports car "ZIL-112S"
The car was manufactured by ZIL in two copies. These vehicles used slightly modified ZIS-110 engines. One V8 volume 6 liters and power 230 hp, the other - respectively 7 liters And 270 hp Depending on the engine, the speed ranged from 260 to 270 km/h. Compared to the ZiS-112, the car had a very short wheelbase(2190 mm for 112C versus 3760 mm for 112), was significantly lighter than it (1300 kg versus 1450 kg).
Racing car "ZIL-112S".
Year of construction............1962
Engine power...230-270 hp
Weight......................1300 kg.
Max. speed.......260-270 km/h.Racing car "Moskvich-G4"
Work on the design of the "-G4" model began in 1962, and the first tests finished car took place in April 1963. In 1965, all three cars were equipped with Moskvich-408 engines with two twin Weber-40DCO carburetors and new camshafts, exhaust systems new design. On the first chassis in 1966, a prototype of the Moskvich-412 engine with a power of 92 hp
Racing car "Moskvich-G4".
Year of construction............1963-1966
Engine power...76-100 hp
Weight......................560 kg.
Max. speed.........180 km/h.Racing car "Estonia-9"
Design of Estonia-9 began in the fall of 1965, and the first prototype was built in March next year. The design of this car is distinguished by a number of solutions that deserve the closest attention: a body made of fiberglass, as well as detachable (from two stamped steel cups) wheels and double arms upper control arms front wheel suspension. Engine - "Wartburg-312" volume 992 cm3 with a compression ratio increased to 12 units, and a "Dell" Ortho carburetor", produced 80 hp at 5800 rpm
Racing car "Estonia-9".
Year of construction............1966-1973
Engine power...85 hp
Weight.........................453 kg.
Max. speed.......190 km/h.Racing car "VAZ-2105 VFTS"
In fact, the units were tested on the LADA 1600 future LADA VFTS, which in 1982 was homologated by the FIA in Group B - specially built cars. Among the differences between the car and the production prototype, cam 4 and 5 speed gearboxes should be noted. Under exhaust system a separate tunnel was welded into the bottom of the car, and an additional engine support appeared in the engine compartment. In the cabin, on the dashboard, there is a generator switch that can release several Horse power.
Racing car "VAZ-2105 VFTS".
Year of construction............1982-1986
Engine power...160 hp
Weight.........................980 kg.
Max. speed.........192 km/h.
In every country where it once began to develop Automotive industry, this process was inextricably linked with the development of sports and racing cars. Was no exception Soviet Union, where such machines were made throughout the history of the country. Here are just some of the most interesting ones that appeared at that time. 
1. Racing GAS
The first Soviet races took place in 1937 on the Zhitomir highway near Kiev. Participants competed on homemade cars, assembled on the basis of outdated GAZ-A chassis with old V4 engines. A start had been made, but the speed record for these races could not even reach the figure set during the Russian Empire.
2. ZIS-101A-Sport
This car was designed by three engineers of the Moscow Stalin Plant in 1938 on the basis of the best Soviet car at that time, the ZIS-101. True, the choice for a sports car was still not the best, because the 101st weighed 2.5 tons. However, this did not stop the top of the Soviet Politburo from liking the car.
3. GAZ-SG1
A significantly modified model of the Soviet sports car was called “Pobeda-Sport” and was made on the basis of the GAZ car. The car turned out to be incredibly light, only 1.2 tons. The car accelerated to 190 km/h. A total of five such cars were created.
4. "Star"
This racing car was the first Soviet car built specifically for sports competitions. By the way, she was driving on a motorcycle engine, which accelerated her to 139.6 km/h. This figure was achieved due to a significant reduction in weight.
5. Sokol-650
This car was designed after the war, together with German engineers. It was the first Soviet Formula 2 racing car. Auto-Union project engineers worked on its creation. Their racing cars conquered European tracks even before the war.
6. GAZ Torpedo
The car is a completely original design. Its teardrop-shaped body was made from aircraft materials. Thanks to this, the weight of the car was only 1.1 tons. Thanks to exceptional aerodynamics, the car showed a track speed of 191 km/h.
7. GAZ-TR
This turboactive Soviet car was built in 1954. The car was equipped with an engine from a MiG-17 fighter with a capacity of 1,000 horsepower. The maximum speed of such a car reached 700 km/h.
Bonus: ZIS-112
An attempt by Muscovites to create their own version of a sports car. As with its predecessor, the car turned out to be too heavy, which prevented it from effectively competing with its classmates, despite powerful engine. However, after a thorough modernization and replacement of the engine with an even more powerful one, the car still set a speed record of 210 km/h.
There are iconic things in motorsport that even people who are very far from racing know about (or at least have heard of). The legendary Monte Carlo Rally is just one of these. This is what traditionally opens the World Championship (WRC) in January. And victory on the most difficult winter track means no less to many drivers than championship at the end of the season. Now imagine - 50 years ago, five Soviet practically standard cars: three Volgas and two Moskviches. Venerable foreigners with powerful, well-prepared equipment considered them just whipping boys, but events took a slightly different scenario...
The frivolous attitude towards domestic racers was explained by their inexperience. After all, since Tsarist times our athletes have not competed in international rallies - government priorities were different. And only in 1957, when the country had recovered at least a little from the post-war devastation, the first multi-day rally in the USSR took place. By the way, there were more than a hundred participants, since almost all sports societies, including the army, wanted to try themselves in the new sport, and private players also joined in. The popularity was also facilitated by the liberality of the requirements - for example, athletes did not dress in fire-resistant overalls, as they do now, but in whatever suits their fancy. Although the most reinsurers even took care of safety and got hold of tank helmets. But we drove completely regular cars- from “Moskvich-400” and GAZ “Pobedy” to shaking “GAZ-69” and solid “ZIM”, stuffed to capacity with spare parts and provisions.
The athletes suffered a lot back then, but everyone seemed to enjoy it - the rally began to develop rapidly, and a year later the first USSR Championship started. And then, in 1958, Soviet racers made their debut on the international stage - four Moskvich-407s visited the Finnish 1000 Lakes race. At that time it did not yet have such wide popularity as it does today, but it turned out to be an excellent school. The most difficult forest track with many jumps made it possible to shake out the equipment, test the work of the team and unite the crews, because in a rally (both yesterday and today) the result depends no less on the competence of the navigator than on the skill of the pilot. By the way, having driven a full season in a Volkswagen POLO CUP this year, the Auto Mail.Ru crew had the opportunity to verify this from their own experience.
In the Soviet Union, the first rally championship took place in 1958, and at the same time our athletes set off to conquer Finland for the “1000 Lakes” race. The weapon chosen was the Moskvich-407 - a generally reliable car, but, alas, not too fast. Therefore, if in the team competition, where stability was more valued, the USSR team immediately took third place, then neither in 1958 nor in the next few years our pilots could boast of high personal achievements
In the debut trip, the USSR team took third place, but so far we could only dream of personal achievements. Even a year later, at the same race, our best Sergei Tenishev became only 33rd overall... And what serious results could we talk about if more than half of the team then consisted of athletes of pre-retirement age. In addition, the “1000 lakes” distance still turned out to be difficult for the weak serial “Muscovites”. The engines were working at the limit, the suspensions could barely withstand ski jumps. They say that the spectators laughed when one of our cars took a climb due to a broken gearbox... in reverse! Funny? Maybe, but even in this condition, Soviet cars could reach the finish line. And this was highly valued in the team competition.
In addition, our riders and coaches learned quickly. After all, for the first time, Soviet rally drivers loudly declared themselves in the early 60s, when they began to actively participate in the race “For Peace and Friendship”. The name is good, but the essence of the event is harsh. It was carried out over a vast territory, affecting a number of socialist countries and covering several thousand kilometers of distance, on which there was everything - from smooth, fast highways to the mountain passes of the Carpathians. And just like that, our guys immediately began to be among the winners and prize-winners. Let me remind you - on serial Moskvich, Volga and Pobeda cars with a minimum of semi-handicraft modifications, which boiled down mainly to lightening standard parts and increasing engine power.
No sooner said than done. And in 1963, Soviet rally drivers (two Moskvich and three Volga) entered the killer Akropolis rally, a stage of the European Championship. The concept changed - no one cared about the personal successes of the riders anymore. The main thing is to bring all the cars to the finish line and show an excellent team result. True, the top management did not particularly want to delve into the details of the preparation process. So the athletes again had to rely only on their own strength. In one of the interviews, Anatoly Dmitrievsky, a participant in those events, who raced the Akropolis together with Sergei Tenishev on the Moskvich-407, recalled that, for example, the “combat” car had to be driven to Greece under its own power, and new tires were issued literally on the eve of the start . And instead of resting before the three-day race, the guys assembled the wheels by hand.
The 1963 European Championship stage - the Greek Akropolis rally - can be called the first serious test of the strength of the Soviet team. Two 407 Moskvich and three 21 Volga, even despite many technical and organizational problems, arrived at the finish line in full force. What's important is one step away from podiums in your classes
Plus, on hard high-speed sections, the car, not designed for such an exorbitant load, “crumbled” - fuel system, electrical, brakes, suspension... The starter alone was replaced seven times! But the crews completed the task of the party - out of 80 cars, exactly half finished, including the entire Soviet team. And at the same time, Tenishev and Dmitrievsky stopped one step away from the podium in their class, as well as the “Volgov” crew Mosolov - Matissen in a higher classification.
Apparently, officials were quite happy with this arrangement. And therefore, when in January 1964 the racers were sent to conquer the peaks of Monte Carlo, nothing changed in the preparation process - again, saving on everything was based on the mass heroism and ingenuity of the crews. Only the mandatory equipment was purchased with difficulty - foreign seat belts, navigational instruments, additional headlights... Scarce Winter tires Our guys only saw them in Reims, and they didn’t throw away the standard tires - the authorities ordered them to be taken care of. The foreigners were touched - but the Russians were crazy! On the passes and with such excess weight (and additional fuel tanks, spare parts, tools, personal belongings were secured in the trunks)! I think there is no need to explain what could have resulted from an accident on an icy winter mountain road involving an ordinary passenger car that time. And the Soviet rally drivers knew this, but they drove...
Solemn photographs against the backdrop of mountain landscapes are not the beginning, but the epilogue of the legendary Monte Carlo Rally. In the middle of the last century, it was carried out according to the “star gathering” scheme, when participants had to start each from their own point, but at the same time arrive in Monaco exactly at the appointed time. Three 21 Volgas and two Moskvich-403s of the Soviet team set off on a three-day continuous journey across Europe from Minsk. On the way to Belarus, one of the Moskvich racing cars had a terrible accident. The sedan was smashed to pieces, but instead the team put out... a “technician”!
We couldn't pass by. This is how one of the main world rallies was covered in the Soviet press. More precisely, it was most likely some kind of factory wall newspaper, but how touching it looks - the headline, the handwriting, the pasted photographs...
The conditions of the Monte Carlo Rally were so difficult that out of 342 participants, only 174 cars reached the finish line. And again ours managed without losses - not a single car got on the route! True, the already low-power Volgas and Moskvichs in the mountains became so weak due to the rarefied atmosphere (even with such a load!) that they picked up penalty seconds without making it into the final standings. But, having come face to face with the best foreign factory teams and pilots, our guys gained invaluable experience - fussing around in the Soviet rally “sandbox” could not provide such knowledge in principle. Although a year later this did not help - ours again finished outside the standings...
The rally career of the fashionable (for those times) Moskvich-408 turned out to be very short-lived - only a couple of years - and not very successful. He didn’t have time to start in Monte Carlo, and in the upcoming marathons the 50-horsepower car no longer had any chance. Moreover, the 75-horsepower Moskvich-412, more suitable for motorsport, began to roll off the assembly line. But the 408th was noted at the Polish Raid rally (1st place in its class) and Akropolis, where Soviet sedans came in 8th and 11th places
However, the business impact from these performances was impressive. The foreign public appreciated the reliability Soviet cars, which withstood several thousand racing kilometers without significant problems. The same “Muscovites” began to be bought up very willingly in Europe. And just then the new 408 model arrived - very stylish for that time.
“Autoexport” continued to periodically stimulate demand by traveling to international races like the same “Acropolis” and the Finnish “1000 Lakes”. I must say, not without success. For example, the Soviet Volga GAZ-21 made its mark even in Ethiopia, where in 1967 the crew of Tenishev-Kislykh came first in their class and second (!) in the absolute. And in the same year in Finland, two more Volgas (Karamyshev - Zimmerman and Mosolov - Meshcheryakov) distinguished themselves by 2nd and 3rd places in the class “over 2000 cm3”. True, the athletes on the Moskvich-408 could not reach such heights - the low-power 50-horsepower engine was already obsolete by the end of the 60s and did not allow them to race on equal terms with foreign models.
The real sensation happened a year later. You probably already noticed that the rally distances at that time were gigantic - nothing like today? So, journalists from the British newspaper Daily Mirror decided that this was not enough for a real spectacle, a full test of people and equipment. And they decided to start a “Tsar Rally”, a kind of marathon of 16,000 km through 11 countries from London to Sydney, Australia. Can you imagine the scale and complexity of this action!? But the leading automakers accepted the challenge - otherwise it would have been very easy to lose prestige. 98 crews from 12 teams entered the race. Soviet rally drivers also agreed to participate - the Moskvich-412 with a more powerful 1.5-liter engine had just appeared and competed very successfully in foreign markets with foreign cars. So he simply needed to maintain his reputation.
The bars, which protect the car in a collision with wild animals, were delivered by plane to the Australian section of the London-Sydney marathon. Very useful - who knows, the Tenishev-Kislykh crew could have finished in 20th place overall after ramming a marsupial if it weren’t for the “kengurin”. By the way, all the Muscovites made it there, thereby winning fourth overall team place
Preparations were in full swing - time was running out. Not everything was successful, but on a simple “Moskvichonka” with Koni shock absorbers, reinforced springs, brakes and clutch, the Tenishev-Kislykh crew managed to come 20th overall, even despite a collision with a kangaroo! But more importantly, all four 412s successfully reached the finish line, securing fourth place overall as a team. Moreover, along the way the caravan lost almost half of the participants.
The 1970 London-Mexico City Marathon is still called the rally of the century. In my opinion, absolutely fair. 26,000 km on roads in 25 countries; 39 days and 400 hours of continuous struggle with average speeds on special stages above 100 km/h - this is something you won’t see these days.
They were already afraid of the Soviet team on the Moskvich - everyone understood that surprises should be expected from these crazy Russians, even with extremely simple equipment. And they didn’t keep them waiting - our athletes brought the Moskvich-412 model in a new body to the start line. True, this, by and large, is what the “arms race” was limited to. Despite various interesting ideas to lighten cars and increase their dynamics, the funds and capabilities were only enough for the bare necessities: roll cages, shock absorbers, additional headlights and fuel tank, power underbody protection and high-altitude octane correctors for carburetors. All! A certain secret was only in the engineering tricks possible in the conditions of the factory sports laboratory: some imported components, selective assembly, reinforced welds of the body, “kerchiefs” and spacers to increase its rigidity. As a result, the weight of the Moskvich increased almost one and a half times - up to one and a half tons. I had to shorten it main couple and install springs from a station wagon. But what's the point if the power of the Ufa engine, due to careful selection of components, has grown from the standard 75 to only 80-85 forces...
Five Soviet “Moskvich 412” made it from Moscow to London and took off at Wembley Stadium. The tactics were simple - stay in a tight group, helping each other whenever possible, with an eye to a high team result. Only crew No. 84 (Lifshits - Shchavelev) had a certain freedom - only they were traveling together and could, if successful, race for a personal result
Our riders were no longer lacking in experience. They were preparing to perform well even on such equipment. Although the roads really turned out to be difficult. After the European section of the route, the organizers were missing 24 crews. And this is on the seemingly simplest part of the route! Further more. There are only 39 cars left in operation in Bolivia, including five Soviet Moskvich cars.
But the most lethal stretch was between the Argentine cities of Rodeo and La Viña. Here, at an altitude of 4500 m above sea level, a night speed race along a dusty dirt road. Only the most desperate and fortunate survived it. For example, the winner of the previous London-Sydney Marathon, Andrew Cowan, seriously hit his Triumph on a rock, fell down a slope and ended up in hospital. Our, the strongest at that time, crew No. 21 (Astafiev - Safonov - Garkusha) was also unlucky - their Moskvich fell into the abyss from a height of about 10 meters. Astafiev, who was driving, received numerous injuries. Another 412 also retired - due to various problems, car number 84 (Lifshits - Shchavelev) did not meet the allotted time limit, and at the checkpoint the judges removed the Soviet crew from the race, although the Moskvich was on the move. In general, the ferry to Panama, for which 35 seats were booked, left not even fully loaded - only 26 cars remained in service.
The European section of the “Muscovites” marathon was successful, but there were enough adventures. So, in Italy, the racers had to cover up their starting numbers so as not to provoke the local guys to “race.” And in Portugal, the 412th number 40 (crew Teneshev - Kislykh - Shirochenkov) almost flew into the abyss - it was killed brake pipe. By some miracle, the pilot managed to stop the car on the last bush before the cliff. “Moskvich” fell on its side, but Shchavelev’s crew walking behind helped his comrades put the car on wheels and continue the race
Let us remember that personal success did not particularly worry anyone then, except the pilots themselves - it was important to take a high command place. So the leaders ordered the remaining three “Muscovites” to moderate their ardor and do everything just to get to Mexico City. However, even within such a strict framework, the USSR rally drivers were able to distinguish themselves. 12th place in the overall standings (out of 23 finishers) of crew No. 28 Potapchik - Lesovsky - Bazhenov is an undoubted success. Our other guys (Holm - Gidrauskas - Bubnov and Teneshev - Kislykh - Shirochenkov) completed the marathon rally in 17th and 20th places. In their own class “up to 1600 cm3” the 412s took 2nd, 3rd and 4th places. And most importantly, the Muscovites retained third overall team place, showing the most high reliability equipment (60 percent of cars of this model successfully completed the route). For comparison, not a single Porsche saw the finish line, only one out of five Mercedes made it, the only Citroen out of six, the lone Peugeot out of 12 that started...
The finish in Mexico City was a celebration in itself for those 23 participants who managed to survive to the end of the marathon. The Soviet rally drivers were also in seventh heaven. And not only because of the meeting with the national football team. Third team place, Moskvich - the most reliable car marathon, 2nd, 3rd and 4th positions in their class! Isn't this a success? And the best of our crew, No. 28 Potapchik - Lesovsky - Bazhenov, came 12th overall! By the way, after this the wits started talking about the fact that, they say, all Soviet rally drivers came from taxi drivers. But this is not so - yes, Potapchik and Bazhenov worked in taxi companies, but everyone else (with the exception of Shirochenkov) were professional engineers or testers of AZLK and NAMI
It became a sensation. At home, the rally drivers were greeted as heroes, and Avtoexport immediately increased the supply of Moskvich cars abroad. It’s hard to believe, but then more than half of AZLK’s circulation was exported! In the USSR, they even wrote a book “Muscovites on “Muscovites” - by the way, it turned out to be a very worthy work.
We would like to separately note the feat of the crews of the technical assistance vehicles. While large foreign companies, like Ford or Citroen, prepared full-fledged service parks along the entire route, the Soviet team took everything with them. Behind the channel of “combat” vehicles were two Moskvich-427 station wagons, loaded to the top with spare parts. But if something happened, the crews turned into mechanics and repaired failed cars right on the side of the road. By the way, similar tactics of high-speed technical vehicles were subsequently used by the KamAZ rally-raid team.
In the London-Mexico City rally marathon, the feat was accomplished not only by “combat” crews, but also by technical assistance vehicles—Moskvich-427 station wagons. Two “technical vehicles” were loaded to the limit - their weight reached 2.5 tons! And still the support group tried to keep up with the athletes. By the way, team leader Karl Sochnov was riding in one of these cars.
And then the Soviet rally drivers began to smash everyone at the stages of the Tour of Europe, organized by the German auto club ADAC. The route of these races ran across the European continent, but compactness did not interfere with the length - a distance of 15,000 km was in order. The heavy, clumsy Volgas had by that time finally faded into the shadow of the national championship, but representatives had entered the international arena Izhevsk Automobile Plant and VAZ. In general, until the mid-70s of the last century, our racers in Europe had no equal. Year after year, they not only racked up first and second places in their standings, but also consistently made it into the top ten overall. For example, in 1971, rally drivers driving Moskvich-412 took the Gold Cup for best result teams of four crews, and “VAZ-2101” received a Silver trophy for the championship among teams from three cars. And this is in the first international race for Tolyatti residents! Ford, BMW, Volvo, Volkswagen are left behind - can you imagine that these days?
Dembel chord of the Soviet rally. In the 80s, the Lada 2105 VFTS tried to compete with foreign cars of advanced group B. But no matter how hard the Baltic craftsmen tried, they failed to build a champion machine based on the “classic”...
It seemed that now it would always be like this. But soon a crisis of results came. For many it seemed unexpected, but for specialists everything was obvious. No, our riders have not lost their skills. It’s just that by the time the main players in rally battles began to build cars with a power of up to 300 hp. (comparable to current WRC cars), in the USSR one could only dream of such monsters - there were neither resources nor suitable models to take them as a basis. You can’t fight much with a saber against a tank... After all, in addition to reliability, completely different factors began to play a decisive role - speed, dynamics, controllability.
Therefore, in the 80s, the Soviet international rally was already in convulsions, as was the once mighty country itself. Individual flashes of victories and the appearance of the legendary “Lada 2105 VFTS” of the so-called “B” group could no longer change the overall picture. There were still many years left before the victory of Evgeny Vasin with Alexey Shchukin in the European Cup, the podiums of Evgeny Novikov in the World Championship, the local successes of Vasily Gryazin in the European Championship and the appearance of the rising star Alexey Lukyanuk. But this was a different country and different rallies...
P.S. And finally, we invite you to enjoy a video prepared by enthusiasts based on archival footage and scenes from the film “Racers.” Yes, yes, even feature films were made about rallying back then...
The 1950s and 1960s saw the heyday of Soviet motorsport. They created their own racing cars at car factories, universities, and even large car parks. Moreover, in the Land of the Soviets they launched serial production of cars for Formula racing. Our review is about all these sports cars.
Moskvich-404 Sport
Looking at the success of the sports GAZ and ZIS, the management of the Moscow Small Car Plant could not stand aside. Their production cars, the Moskvich, were low-powered and quite heavy. But even on their basis, sports prototypes were built. In 1954, Moskvich-404 Sport was created. The 1.1-liter engine with four carburetors produced a modest 58 hp, which accelerated the car to 150 km/h.
KD
A car called KD Sport 900 is not the work of Italian designers, but just a homemade product. In 1963, a team of enthusiasts began work on a series of five cars of their own design. The fiberglass body hid the units of the “humpbacked Zaporozhets” ZAZ-965. The 30-horsepower air-cooled engine accelerated the car to 120 km/h. This is a modest result by today's standards, but considerable speed for a car of those years.
Cars of the Kharkov Automobile and Road Institute
In 1951-1952, a small group of HADI students began designing a sports car. The task was to build a car with maximum use of components of existing equipment. The car was made according to the “formula” model - open wheels, a body made of welded pipes, a 30-horsepower M-72 motorcycle engine. The first car of the famous Kharkov University reached a speed of 146 km/m.
In 1962, the HADI High-Speed Car Laboratory developed a project for the world's smallest racing car. In a car weighing only 180 kilograms, the pilot could sit lying down, which ensured very good streamlining. It was planned that the 500 cc engine with small dimensions and weight would allow it to accelerate to 220 km/h. Unfortunately, when testing the prototype on the plain of the Baskunchak salt lake (the Soviet analogue of Bonneville), the “maximum speed” was only 100 km/h. The new technology of tireless wheels turned out to be flawed.
Year after year, new experimental technology was developed at the HADI Sports Car Laboratory. Some of the samples turned out to be successful and set republican and all-Union speed records; tests of others resulted in the identification of deficiencies or accidents. The work of students and teachers of Kharkov University on new machines continues to this day.
Racing cars "Estonia"
The history of Soviet formula cars began with the 1952 Sokol-650 model. But these were one-off samples, moreover, built to order in Germany. But already in 1958, at the Tallinn Experimental Automobile Repair Plant, they began to build their own open-wheel racing cars from domestic components. Each subsequent model became better than the previous one, reliability increased, aerodynamics improved, power and maximum speed of Estonia cars increased. The most successful cars were built in series of dozens and even hundreds of copies.
Rally Moskvich-412
The Moskvich 412, produced since the 1960s, has become one of the most famous Soviet sports cars in the world. The car had phenomenal survivability and unpretentiousness. From 1968 to 1973, the compact sedan competed in many international rallies. High places in the London-Sydney (16 thousand kilometers) and London-Mexico City (26 thousand kilometers) races created good fame for the Soviet Moskvich, confirming its high reliability.
The beginning of the review of the coolest Soviet sports cars can be viewed.
