1975 VAZ-2103: A Soviet Time Machine
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- čas přidán 19. 03. 2018
- An automobile that was produced in numbers well into the tens of millions doesn’t seem so unique, but what if one of those cars hadn’t been touched for more than forty years before its rediscovery? That’s the story behind this Soviet-era survivor that shows just under 150 kilometers on the clock, and it’s all original despite the Curtain coming down decades ago. It’s a time capsule from an altogether different history than most of the cars in our Made to Drive series, and though it’s not a sporting machine by any means, the VAZ-2103 “Zhiguli” is still one of the most significant cars ever built. Let the proud owner of this 1975 example tell you why.
See the photoshoot and further info on the VAZ-2103 here: petro.li/VAZ
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I love that it's not just about the car but what it represented to a lot of people. Lovely thing.
I love cars with history and aura. Petrolicious always does a fantastic job of relaying the car's own story, no matter how valuable the car may or may not be. Being not only a car guy but a lifelong student of European history, I love when the two are combined. Like in the case of this Vaz, cars often play a role in the larger history of a certain place, not just the automotive aspect. And the fact that they were cranking out 2200 of these a day is a testament to the communist worker. Although with this particular car, it was probably hidden away in a barn for so long because it was evidence to the case of the KGB agent who was deemed "no longer useful." So after he was knocked off, the car had to be stashed somewhere! Great job Petrolicious!
its basically a soviet Datsun 510
More like a Soviet Ford Model T, the car that got the common man going, but 60 years later. The Datsun 510 was nothing more than a little 60's sedan with sporty ambitions, much like the BMW Neue Klasse that it competed with.
William Gson I was thinking the same thing I just didn't want to get too carried away in my original comment. But you are absolutely correct. There are cars like the Model T, the Volkswagen (Beetle) and in this case the Vaz that impacted society as a whole. I had heard of the Vaz and other Russian/eastern European cars (Lada, Tatra, etc) but sounds to me like the Vaz introduced the sweeping change seen with the Model T in America, allowing most citizens a mobility not seen before as well as revolutionizing (or maybe just updating) Russia's mass production industry. They might not be fast, rare or expensive but I find cars like this just an interesting as those that are, if not more so.
My father had one back in the day. White Lada (VAZ) 2103. It was the first car i ever drove. I still remember it. I was 13 then and full of desire to drive anything with 4 wheels. I'm 23 now and still remember with joy my first touch with driving this car. The clutch was bad, the gearbox was hard to shift and oww that steering...I was always kidding my dad that the steering wheеl was stolen from a 50s bus. But somehow i felt attraction, the noise, the carburator...Even today i still say to friends that these cars do have a soul. You need to drive it in order to feel it. This gorgeous movie set me back with nice memories from a decade ago. Thank you Petrolicious for sharing not only western masterpieces but eastern too.
Ahh, and also Lada in old historic bulgarian language means "Love".
Greetings from Bulgaria.
Поздрав из Босне !!
удивительно увидеть наш автопром на столь почтенном канале
Наш это какой?Машина из совдепии!
@@wittmann787 go to the jopa.....
It’s so incredibly square! The rear taillights look like the tail lights on old Alfas
WOW! only 148km on odometer.
The best car of Soviet era. Please let my guys make video about Niva for Petrolicious!)
NOMUSCLEGARAGE поддерживаю)
NOMUSCLEGARAGE Боря, почему не выходит Три?, я ее очень жду)
Боря, занялся бы ты лучше выпуском новых видео-повествований про американские машины. Это интереснее
Yes! I really love the niva, stil a very cool car!
о, Боря, здарова
Ma bucur sa vad asa ceva pe Petrolicious! Keep up the good work!
VAZ is the name of the company/factory: Volzhski Auto Zavod, that is, Volga Car Works (not to be confused with Volga cars made by Gorky car works). The cars themselves were sold in the Soviet Union as "Zhiguli", but this name was considered hard to pronounce for export markets and also sounding similar to gigolo, so on the export markets it has been sold as Lada. Starting from the 2108 model in 1986, VAZ switched to Lada for the domestic market as well.
This should have russian subtitles! I can add it if you allow it in settings.
Советская классика ! Я на такой учился ездить и сдавал на права.
Спасибо за видео ! Неожиданно :)
а я на такой аж 3 года отъездил :)
И я на такой учился ездить в середине 90х. машина была 1973 года, пригнана из Венгрии на Украину. Переехал за океан почти 20 лет назад, поменял уже много машин, однако тройку буду помнить всегда. Хорошее видео спасибо!
Все на них учились ездить и сдавали на права :)
Aaaah, say what ???
Marc René Yvon say Trump 2020!
In fact, no matter what car is on the video, people from all over the world are united by the love of the memories they leave. Machines can be different, someone has Julia, someone has Fiat, some people: Lada. Вut the memories are almost identical). In general, I was wildly surprised to see this car here, almost all of my childhood was spent with these Ladas)
That's a beautiful car. I, for one, love it. I love its simplicity, its boxy, well proportioned classic shape and the fact that she's decked out nicely inside with tachometer, and various other gauges. Totally dig it :)
I love that car. And fair play to the owner for finding, preserving and driving it.
Сочетание английских субтитров и румынской речи вызывает у меня очень странные ощущения - из-за того, что часть слов знакома, мозг постоянно пытается заставить меня прислушиваться, а не читать )
молдавской !)
kinda the same(I am from Bulgaria)
Man, I know this car! I've even driven it on occasions. Just as the "Lada" or "Zhiguli" trim level, and a 1974 model. It's a fun car to drive indeed. No brake booster, no retracting seat belts, and all the reality of driving (compared to modern cars which tend to negate this reality).
Nice too see Soviets car in your channel, good staff
This car is so awesome. I enjoyed one these days. Awesome video and great scenes👍
Another beautifully filmed video from Petrolicious, amazing how you keep such a high standard. Great to see a more 'humble' car featured, and what a fine example it is too, with a very knowledgeable owner.
The VAZ-2103 (or Lada 1200 / 1300 if it was exported) was basically a license build Fiat 124 Special.
Most of the cars in the Soviet era were built to last, simple, efficient and to be easily fixed by the owner.
The actual VAZ was of better quality than it's Fiat predecessor. Apart from the VAZ factories, it was also licence built by Seat in Spain as the SEAT 124, in Turkey as Tofaş Murat 124, in South Korea as Asia Motors Fiat-KIA 124, up till a few years ago it was still built by Lada-Egypt.
the Lada variant was quite different from the base Fiat, thicker steel body added weight, heavier raised suspension to deal with poor Russian roads and Fiat's rev-happy DOHC engines replaced with lower powered motors with a crank start option.
I was as a passenger in this kind of car today. Brakes were not working and it stalled a couple of times, lots of fun during just 1km drive!
Great to see Petrolicious make a video about VAZ. I happe to own a 21063. I daily drive it to school, but at the moment it is waiting for winter to end, and roads to be clear of salt.
When I was a kid in the late 80s and early 90s we still had plenty of old soviet cars here in Finland. Nowadays it is quite rare to see them anymore. My family had cream white and kind of carrot red Ladas. I know they weren't actually that good cars but I do have to admit that I have a little soft spot for them :)
I didn't know people in Finland used them, nice to know :D
@@AndranikMuse Oh yes. I happen to know from a friend that a lot of taxis in Finland for a good while were GAZ M-21 and M-24 "Volgas". They were a step above this featured VAZ and were favored mostly for their large interiors and simple mechanicals.
@@jakekaywell5972 Nice, my great grandfather had a light blue Volga 21 and my grandfather a white 24. Good ol' times
I love how people hate it just because they saw someone who heard once that somebody said to somebody that these cars are suck, Fiat copys and etc. Get your knowledge right. I also love the old Top Gear and now The Grand Tour, but they are just simply hate it because... why not? If they were that rubbish as you say and think, people would not use them nowadays... because they do (or at least who had one, regret get rid of it)
Great video Petrolicius!
In the Soviet Union you didn't have much of a choice, a Lada or a Moskvitch (Volgas we're reserved for politicians and the police).
You could also have a ZAZ, Dacia, Skoda, Polski Fiat, Wartburg and Trabant. I know that you couldn’t have anything else then, but today you could have any car from any manufacturer, but some people still use a classic rwd Lada for daily driving. Just like my brother, plenty of my friends, many people I don’t know and even myself. And no, we are not Russians
yes the ZAZ Zaporozhets (horrible) was available but the others you mention are from Warsaw Pact countries and not readily accessible in Russia or the rest of the Soviet Union. There is a Lada community in the UK that keeps the cars going but they are pretty rare now, less than 300 according to a resource.
dcanmore You’re right, I see these things as a Hungarian and us “could have anything”
The west never had a mentionable number of the communist cars. We did, and slowly turns out that the older cars of the people like Golf mk1 and mk2 are becoming more extinct like the older or same age Ladas
Apart from the usual Ladas and Polski-Fiats, in the UK we briefly got Moskvitch and Wartburg in the 1970s, however much more successful was the FSO Polonez, Skoda 120 Estelle and Rapid. We also got the Lada Samara and Skoda Favorite hatchbacks. For brief period in the 1980s we also got the Dacia Duster 4x4 and ARO 244 from Romania but they were not successful because of Japanese competition (UK loved Subaru cars). I would say there is probably less than 600 communist era cars left on UK roads now.
Foarte frumos! Sunt mândru pentru compatriotul meu! Bravo!
What a gorgeous and classy little machine. I dream of owning one of these some day.
When you are lucky enough to find a car you like, between dust and boxes, you know it will be love. I liked the video.
As export model known as Lada 1600 qute good car for that time in fact the best of Lada model. The base for that car was Fiat 124
Beautiful video, again, Petrolicious! All done superb (except audio). I like these box'y cars, in design. And it's great to get the history & context. More of this.
They were sold in Canada, staring about 1975 as the Lada. My brother bought one new, for $4500.00 cdn. It was an OK car, He got something like 150,000 miles out of it, even drove it from Toronto to San Francisco and back. He changed the badges from 'Lada' to 'Fiat' for the american adventure, as the yanks were prone to vandalizing Ladas at that time.
Don't need subtitles, I am Romanian!
My grandpa had a Lada like this in the early 80s. ....brings me back.
Nowadays a 1970s Lada can be a serious barn find. I for one welcome our new Soviet antiques.
or you could buy it in russia for 200-400$, not the best one, but you get it
Finding a Lada is easy, but if you are looking for a 2103 or a "button-eyed" 2101 in great, original condition, barns can really be your friend.
@@rautavaara9194 i bought a restored 2101, two rust spots, a bit of odd paint, but running perfectly
Including a bunch of spare parts, all the original tools (including the handcrank) and a working soviet-era camera, it cost me 3500€
Here in central Europe, owning a 70s - 80s Vaz is easiest way to experience 60s italian car vibes:-)
Honza Vlcek You mean rust? ;)
I have been the proud owner of one of these for the last 15 years. It's been a joy, have driven about 60.000 km.
I like Cezar ... knows all the history and seems tickled to have this relic of an era gone by. Can''t believe the dash clock still works too! Amazing!!
Beautiful photography and excellent story telling.
Wow, what are the chances of coming upon something like that?? That is one beautiful, unique machine and I don't think anyone could've done a better job at telling it's story than you guys.
Restorating my fathers 2103 '74 and hope to get it to Petrolicious some day :P
I also have 2103 '74 amongst other. Green 388 color.
my mother's first car was a yellow VAZ-2103, she to this day says she loved the car
I totally confused this with my buddy's 2103 here in the Bay Area. He mentioned Petrolicious the other day and I thought this is it. Love the content regradless.
Audio mix not the best
louis soon unfortunatly many things in post are not "best"..
The audio on many of their recent videos is catastrophic, particularly the one with Subaru van was really bad. When the engine is running, only the engine should be heard, when the owner is speaking, only his speech and some faint music should be heard, at least that's my understanding of things...
i dont have to turn on closed captions because im romanian :)
I was about to say the same thing! Lucky us!
@@xplaur But the license plate is from Moldau? Guess they speak Romanian.
Yes, kind of...Romanian! :D
I owned a Lada 1600, very close to this model, but mine was made in year 1998 )))
How very charming and lovely made that video is.
Wonderful fim, as usual!
Foarte frumos video. Felicitari !
WOW ! Good old LADA . My dad had back then in the 80' 2103 and later 2107. Was a good car. Do to the US-CUBA friendship you can still see that cars running around in South Florida, by Miami. What I understand Canada imported some of the LADA NIVA , and still running around. Great video!!!
Great video! 👍👌👏
What happened to the audio levels? Music and B-roll are far too loud, with the narration being drowned by them and the music peaking out at several points. Please re-upload the video?
Jaroneko this is pretty surprising over all from petrolicious. But I've mentioned a few times that their music gets carried away. Probably half the volume it's at now would be a bit much.
Regardless, pretty nice music, IMO
@@quackman what is the name of music ?
@@scsk9425 Not sure, I just enjoyed it
Who would have thought a VAZ from the 70s would survive in such a pristine state! Especially in countries where everything had value and NOTHING was left unused...
A true jewel pointing to the quality FIAT once offered: "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..."
Looks soooo nice! I guess the video was filmed in Romania, right?
my grandfather owned vaz 2101 for more than 30 years, it was a dream car when he bought it.
Great car! Iam Vaz 2106 owner and I love it!
you guys need to do a lada niva :)
32/5000
The car is from the Republic of Moldova. Bravo d-nul Cezar
I drove it once, also a 1975 model. It was called "Lada 1500 S" in the Netherlands. I remember everything feeling very heavy. Gas pedal, brakes, shifting, clutch all heavy. Steering was a tour the force, even and very indirect. It was also very difficult to drive away in, as the clutch only knew 2 states: Engaged or Free, nothing in between. Almost the same for the gas response of the engine. It felt like a racing engine. Touch the pedal and it would rev up big time! It was very reliable, only rust was a problem after a few years. That was not uncommon. The car used not too much fuel (9l/100km) which was good at the time for such a big car (it was considered a roomy car in Europe back then). A pity they never made a luxury station wagon version. Only the cheap model could be bought as a station wagon with 1200, 1300 and yes also this 1500 cc engine.
Leave it to Petrolicious to make even a shit soviet car look somewhat cool. This channel is incredible
Its actually a really cool car in my opinion. Its better than the litany of Ferraris and Jaguars we normally see. Bring on the weird!
Awesome thanks
60's-70's are really is a good time for automobiles histories... Even something from the Soviet looks nice.... Btw what language is that? Nice vid as always
I'm surprised there was no Soviet music. Thank for the story Mr. Owner.
Lovely. Something about those boxy sedans always gets me. I actually like it more than the fancier stuff.
Re-balance the sound though. The speaking track needs to be louder and the music softer.
Браво, браво Лада као бомбона! Awsome car, just love it!
The same in this colour had Father Gustav in our parish. Sometime in 1975 it was an amazing car!
Love how simple the design of that era is specifically the Soviet cars
Awesome! Lada in Petrolicious!
...sorry, but is terrible working engine
The rotary version of this is sooo cool
I don't understand a word... But great car and great images!
In the early 90s i had a Lada 1200s. Even by then it looked outdated, but anyway i loved it's vintage and robust look.However it soon got damaged by rust and burned an exhaust valve. That was the end of my soviet ride.
In Jamaica we had what they called Lada and it was mostly driven as taxis #Respect #Onelove
Beautiful example, very popular car in Yugoslavia back in the day for upper class.
what upper class? That car drove workers in Yugoslavia so called upper class drove western cars.
My driver in Moscow used to own a personal blue Zhiguli. Was a blast to ride in with a slight smell of gasoline in the inside.
When it comes to Soviet-era cars James May taught me that possession of a rev counter is theft!
What a beautiful car
Nice car!!!! Not all car are supermachines
Those cars are everywhere in my city.
Everywhere, really? 2103? You are sure they are not more "modern" 2106s from the 90's or 2000's?
Which city? I'd like to live there, seriously
Sorry for exaggerating it, I didn't mean that 2103 swarming the roads in my city, but they are not rare ,especially in city outskirts and countryside. My dad had one, and one of those is parked in my neighborhood, bet they surely not in the same condition as one in the video.
another marvel with a distinct history
1 The background music is too loud, also an odd choice.
2 Is that what is colloquially known as a Lada?.
3 That thing is cherry, kudos to the owner cause not a lot of ppl would spend time, effort and money to restore a car like that.
1 yeah, it was widely known as Lada
2 the video is saying it was kept in this condition for over 41 years, so it was not restored
Thanks, there was a bigger one that was on a segment of Top Gear America called "Cars of Cuba" but it was modified for racing. Those r good looking cars, proportioned handsomely and typically sedans don't appeal to me.
It was before it became known as Lada.
He actually said he spent no money on restoration. It was closed in a barn and forgotten for 41 years. When he found it it had only been driven for 148 km. Thus the name Time machine. But I have to agree there is something mystic for this car to look exactly like it looked in 1975. A truly classic car. And I am quite sure it did not need anything but a new battery...
They even were used in western Rallies. For example the Austrian Rally driver Rudi Stohl used one for his rallies like the Safari Rally and some others of those extremly long rallies.
Petrolicious in Romania/Moldova. Super tare!
Gasiti si un posesor de Dacia 1300.
Petrolicious make more videos like this
always liked these cars, they were inexpensive to buy, and once sorted, fairly reliable,and way more comfortable than the cars coming out of Japan in the day. mind you that didnt last long.
Super condition !!! Respekt
La robustesse, et l'élégance ! j'aime aussi la "Niva", comme les anciennes Volvo , Saab ou les Volga, ou les anciennes Mercedes. De la grosse tôle, du gros plastique, il y a de quoi pour que ça nous survive
Very appropriate IMHO that a speaker of Romanian is talking about a car that is the product of a partnership between the Soviets and the Italians, since that is what Romanian sounds like to me - a mix of Italian and Russian. Pretty cool.
He is from Moldova, look at the license plate.
2103 балдёж. Не ожидал здесь увидеть!
Egor Ladanov я не ожидала что это машина из Молдовы
Very cool video. I left the up and moved to Russia. I am surrounded by such cool cars. I want to make a video on my friends заз. :)
Although based on the Fiat 124 ( Car of the year 1967) it has got it's own engines and is modded on the outside as well. Check out the spanish Seat 124 which looks much more like a Clone. This one looks fab. Nice colour!
That really is a nice car ,
Great video but music is waaaay too loud. I'm using headphones and man my ears hurt. Also Why middle eastern music when the video takes place in Moldova?
:) waiting time for this Lada 1600 was from 6 to 10 years in Hungary :)
The Soviet Beauty )
Moldova looks quite picturesque.
To be precise, and why not, the VAZ-2103 is not produced in tens of millions. It is made in about 1.400.000 copies and production ended 34 years ago, in 1984.
yeah :) nice car and nice times
I'm curious if the owner has replaced the Soviet-era tires on this time capsule. There's a close-up of a tire at 5:38, but I can't make out all of the lettering.
Somehow, a BEAUTIFUL car!
my dream car. Since i was a child
Felicitari frate moldovan♥️
Цвет классный
баклажан же
RivieraByBuick баклажан твой батя. Это темно коричневый. Баклажановых 2103 не было.
ахуенно! привет из Кишинева!
Where are the subtitles?? I turned on the auto closed captioning but usually that is shit. You guys usually do actual subtitling whats up???