Moskvich S-series

Description

Moskvich S-series is a series of cars, made by AZLK (Moskvich) in the second half of the 1970s. They differentiated from other soviet cars by their innovative construction, one of the many reasons it didn’t go into production.

History

Realizing that the series “3-5” had practically no prospects for mass production, factory designers sketched out sketches of alternative variants. Alternative to both the series “3-5”, and the “Moskvich-412”. Most of these were fastbacks, but there were also several variants with a hatchback type body. According to one of these sketches, executed by the then Chief Designer AZLK IA Zaitsev, in November 1974, a plastic model of a promising car was created under the conditional name “Delta”. It was a mock-up of the exterior forms of the car (externally it looked a bit like the SAAB-900), but the concept of Delta design was recognized as interesting and so it was decided to develop it, creating the prototype of the series “S”. By that time, the tendency of wedge-shaped bodies with a profile reminiscent of the Greek letter delta (Δ) had become apparent in the automotive industry.
The exterior of the Delta was designed by the artist-designer M.A. Elbaev. With him worked as design artists VA. Arutyunyan and V.E. Vyadro. The engineering part of designing the body was done by the designer Yu.A. Dlugokansky, and on the interior worked artist-designer L.A. Leonov and the designer B.P. Malyshenko.

The S-1

In February 1975, for three weeks, a full-size model of the first car, designated the S-1, was built (on both sides of the bonnet the car had a side decorative cover named Meridian-1700TS. According to the memoirs of I.A. Zaytsev, then Chief Designer at AZLK, they did not have a special mock-up plasticine in the USSR: “To give the model the required hardness, we covered it with a thick layer of water-emulsion paint and then with a self-adhesive plastic film.” Americans, having familiarized themselves with our “technology” , were in shock … “. On February 22, 1975, the mock-up was demonstrated to the management of the factory and, according to Zaitsev’s memories, the work was recognized as “a breakthrough”. It was decided to build prototypes of S-1 and in the end of December of the same year the first one was painted in a poisonous-green metallic, for which he was nicknamed by the factory workers “Crocodile Gena.”

An interesting detail of the exterior of this car (as well as all subsequent machines of the “C” series) was the presence of a small luggage compartment cover instead of a full fifth “cargo” door - the management feared that in the winter when it opened, the saloon would become too cold. Another feature of the exterior of the car was a large stamping on the bonnet on the left. This stamp was a kind of compromise between the desire to lower the overall hood line and the need to “fit” the relatively high UZAM-412 engine into the engine compartment. The heart of the Moskvich S-1 was a modernized UZAM-412, with a volume of 1.7 liters, DOHC head and power output of 85 hp (for comparison the 1971-1975 BMW 1802 produced 90 hp from 1.8 liters). Refinement of the engine consisted in the improvement of the cylinder head and the transfer of the ignition distributor from the crankshaft to the camshaft so that it’s higher and will overcome small water obstacles without getting flooded.

Transmission of torque from the engine to the rear wheels was assigned to a mechanical five-speed gearbox of a new generation. The appearance of the “Meridian” was not to be confused with anything - absolutely new sweeping lines, a hood with a bulge like sports cars, expressive rear lights and “recessed” door handles. The salon was no less attractive and had some sport notes like round instruments with chrome rings. It was decided to weld the whole body sidewall with an external seam, which was hidden under a special plastic lining.

Styling

S-1’s interior had imported instruments (manufactured by Jaeger, which produced trucks), they were simply the only ones in stock. Likewise, they did the same with the headlights - since the headlights were not made in the USSR at that time, the headlights from an Opel Ascona were used on the prototype. The car also used a McPherson type front suspension and an independent rear (similar to the BMW 5 Series), the gear lever in the cabin was straight from the box, and therefore the gear change was very direct.

The car got an original and memorable appearance, but the factory designers considered the design to be too crude. It was also tested on public roads against BMW E12, Porsche 911 and the Moskvich 2140. After some time, a couple of prototypes were made, but they were white. In total, three C-1 prototypes were built.

S-2

By mid-1976, a new model with a hatchback body was ready. The prototype of the S-2 was put together very well and even painted. The lines of the side windows were completed by a vent on the rear pillar of the body and the B pillar disappeared when viewed from the outside. It was hidden behind the doors. The unusual door handles were replaced by more familiar ones. The surface of the radiator lining smoothly flowed into the surface of the hood, on which the local bulge that was on the previous S-1 sample disappeared. It was replaced by a large inconspicuous padding, somewhat raised above the hood. The padding was painted with a black matte paint and was defeated as an “element of passive safety”. In order to improve the aerodynamics and attractiveness of the appearance, the wiper blades were hidden under the edge of the hood.

S-3

In October 1976, a new model with a hatchback body of more traditional form appeared, taking into account the wishes of the directors. All that was left from the S-2 was the front end. A prototype of the S-3 was manufactured and tested. The body had welded seams along the edges of the roof, which were closed with plastic pads. The side of the body received a third window, which gave the car a more harmonious, though less dynamic look.

Fate of the project

And so, the Minister of the Automotive Industry of the USSR Viktor Nikolaevich Polyakov comes to AZLK, looks at the C-3 project and says: “What you have created is ridiculous. There are no such cars! Here is, for example, the Simca 1307, a wonderful car, take it as a basis, we buy 10. Disassemble and copy. “
There was a lot of disgust among the development team: letters were sent to the Central Committee of the CPSU. Party bosses came to the factory, listened, but naturally they always took the side of the minister. As a result, they came, only to say they couldn’t change the decision of the minister! The Minister liked the look of the Simca 1307! So, in 1977, the plant was sent several bodies from Simca, on the basis of which they had to study the front-drive layout. According to the memoirs of Igor Andreevich Zaitsev, chief designer of Moskvich 2141, for about two months the team of engineers could not be forced to approach the body model Simka. They were all offended and humiliated by the fact that they were ordered to take not just an idea, but to copy the car so primitively.

Result: