Yugo GVX-R (230HP!)

So I was bored one day and I started to research on rare Zastava cars, concepts, projects because it was made in my country and I love the little car. So I found this little gem yesterday and wanted to share this with you guys.

In 1989 two men ordered a Yugo from Zastava that would be for competing in the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) championship.

Zastava agreed and the main engineer was sent to work on the engine that will be used in this rocket.

Zastava used a Fiat 128 engine as a base and made a 1503 ccm engine that was pushing 230 horsepower (and that was pretty big at the time). They have used two twin-barrel Weber 45mm carburetors, special pistons, an aluminum head, and the engine had a 14.5:1 compression ratio and revving at 11k RPM!

So, performance:

• 230HP @ 11.000 RPM
• 0-100 km/h in 4.3 sec
• 1/4 mile in 12.8 sec
• Max. speed 233km/h

The transmission was 5- speed manual, the shock absorbers were Koni with McPherson sport springs. And as a finishing touch the headmaster of Zastava went to make a deal with Brembo and they implemented Brembo’s brake system with ventilated discs.

The car interior was done by following FIA rules, including rollbars, safety belts, seats, fire extinguishers, etc.

The competition on the SCCA was laughing at a Yugo trying to compete with the fastest cars in the US. But soon they saw the little rocket overtaking Porsche’s, Corvettes and even Ferrari’s!

This car was Zastava’s proof that they can make very good cars only if they have a good enough budget, which they didn’t have so this car could only be made when someone orders, and this one was the only GVX-R ever made.

Sadly, after a very succesful carreer of racing in America the Yugo retired and was never to be seen since. I hope someone was taking care of it in a garage or something.

Hope you enjoyed little story, I have a lot of them if anyone is interested! :)