VAZ-2101
| VAZ-2101 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | AvtoVAZ |
| Also called |
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| Production | 1970–1988 |
| Assembly | Tolyatti, Soviet Union |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Compact car |
| Body style | |
| Layout | Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive |
| Related | |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine |
|
| Transmission | 4-speed Manual 3-speed Automatic |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,424 mm (95.4 in) |
| Length |
|
| Width | 1,610 mm (63 in) |
| Height | 1,382 mm (54.4 in) |
| Curb weight | 955 kg (2,105 lb) |
| Chronology | |
| Successor | |
The VAZ-2101, commonly nicknamed "Zhiguli" and "Kopeyka" (for the smallest coin in the kopeyka), is a compact sedan car (small class, passenger car, model 1 in Soviet classification) produced by the Soviet manufacturer AvtoVAZ and introduced in 1970, the company's first product. The estate version was known as the VAZ-2102. The 2101 is a re-engineered version of the Fiat 124 produced under licence from Fiat and tailored for the nations of the Eastern Bloc, but was widely exported to the West as an economy car. Although the facelifted and modernised VAZ-2105, 2104 & 2107 versions largely replaced it in the West in the early 1980s, it was still produced for the domestic market as late as 1988. Known as the Zhiguli (for the hills found near the plant) within the Soviet Union, the main differences between the VAZ-2101 and the Fiat 124 are the use of thicker gauge steel for the bodyshell, drum brakes on the rear wheels in place of disc brakes, and a bespoke engine. Early versions of the car featured a starting handle for cranking the engine manually should the battery go flat in Siberian winter conditions, and an auxiliary fuel pump.
AvtoVAZ were forbidden from selling the car in competing markets alongside Fiat 124; however, exports to Western Europe began in 1974 when the 124 was discontinued in favour of Fiat's newer 131 Mirafiori. The 2101 was sold in export markets as the Lada 1200, Lada 1300 and Lada 1200S until 1989; it was sold in the United Kingdom from May 1974, until the arrival of the Riva in 1983. It was the first Lada to be sold in the United Kingdom.
The first year, 22,000 were produced, and capacity reached 660,000 by 1973. Sales reached one million on 21 December 1973, and one and a half million in 1974. In May 1974, it went on sale in Britain, priced at ₤979.
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