An exact replica of a Soviet executive car is being created in Novosibirsk. Restorers are working on the legendary ZIS-101.
The car was considered the height of sophistication, and its technical characteristics were not inferior to those of a Kamaz. It took four years of searching for drawings and original parts all over Russia to create it.
“We have been looking for this car for a long time, now there are just over a hundred cars left in the world, in Russia – about forty”, – says the head of the Time Gallery Museum Park Vladimir Kurdyumov, a member of the Association of Private and People’s Museums of Russia. It is the only one in Novosibirsk. The fate of the Soviet ZIS is not simple. The responsible mission to develop the first limousine in the USSR was first entrusted to the Leningrad plant “Krasny Putilovets”, but the agricultural machinery manufacturers could not cope with such an order. Then engineers from the capital were involved. Savvy craftsmen did not reinvent the wheel, they followed the overseas moulds. They took the American Buick as a basis.
On 29 April 1936, the car was brought to Stalin for acceptance. The leader appreciated it but made a remark: there should be a glass between the passengers and the driver, because in the back seat they discuss issues of state importance.
The deficiencies were quickly corrected, a radio and a stove were fitted, which was a novelty at the time. The interior was luxurious for those times – the pinnacle of Soviet designers’ skills. Novosibirsk restorers recreated the model exactly. General’s overcoat, leather and chrome elements were used in the paneling. “The frame of the ZIS is completely wooden, made of bars,” says mechanic Sergei Fedorov.
Despite its laconic appearance, the Soviet Buick has a powerful eight-cylinder engine under the bonnet. Modern motorists would hardly like to drive such a car: without hydraulic booster, the brakes are mechanical. To stop a ZIS, you need physical strength.
ZISs were popular with Soviet leaders, worked in taxi parks and ambulance services. After the war, they decided to improve the model, to add pathos and solidity. The development of Novosibirsk restorers ZIS-110 already hangs in the Museum of Retrotechnics.
Source: Novosibirsk News
An exact replica of the legendary Soviet limousine ZIS-101 has been created in Novosibirsk 
An exact replica of the legendary Soviet limousine ZIS-101 has been created in Novosibirsk 
An exact replica of the legendary Soviet limousine ZIS-101 has been created in Novosibirsk 
An exact replica of the legendary Soviet limousine ZIS-101 has been created in Novosibirsk 
An exact replica of the legendary Soviet limousine ZIS-101 has been created in Novosibirsk 
An exact replica of the legendary Soviet limousine ZIS-101 has been created in Novosibirsk 
An exact replica of the legendary Soviet limousine ZIS-101 has been created in Novosibirsk 
An exact replica of the legendary Soviet limousine ZIS-101 has been created in Novosibirsk