In the 80s, when the old cars for the nomenklatura were clearly asking to be retired, the ZIL plant, without waiting for the go-ahead from above, began developing a fundamentally new sedan for the top party officials. As a rule, with the arrival of each new head of state, the cars received minor updates, but they were built on the basis of cars from the 60s, the line of which evolved very slowly. A new leader, a new course, perestroika — everything demanded changes, breakthroughs, new heights. And the ZIL plant had something to offer.
Despite the fact that the request for a new car from the party came only in the mid-80s, the plant began development back in 1982, the mock-up was ready in 85, and the running prototypes were prepared by 88. There were 2 working prototypes — "Misha" in black and "Raisa", nicknamed "Raika", the color of cocoa in the school cafeteria. It was this car that was lucky enough to "survive" and be carefully and lovingly restored. According to the current owner of the car, more than 100 people worked on it at various times for about 8 years.
There is no reliable information about whether the prototype was shown directly to Gorbachev, but the project never received the "green light" from the Kremlin. According to the most common legend, Mikhail and Raisa Gorbachev did not like that their names were given to experimental prototypes. And the time in which the car saw the light of day was not the most successful — all dreams of a bright future for a great country with a young and promising general secretary were gradually shattered by harsh reality.
The design of the car was strikingly different from all previous "chlenovozs" (the popular name for cars that transported party members). The frame remained in the past, the body became load-bearing. The hood, some floor panels and the roof were made of plastic, which, together with the absence of a frame, made the car a hundred or two kilograms lighter. This had a good effect on the dynamics, despite the fact that the old good gasoline V8 from ZIL-4104 was installed under the hood, it reached 100 in 10.5 seconds and had a maximum speed of over 200 km/h. But the chassis was completely redesigned and received independent suspensions and disc ventilated dual-circuit brakes on all wheels.
The main thing that always distinguished government cars was comfort in the cabin. "Raisa", although more restrained than its predecessors, did not lose comfort: natural veneer, soft and pleasant to the touch plastic. And what was the voice assistant combined with the tape recorder worth! The car obligingly reported open doors or an overheated engine not with a boring light bulb on the dashboard, but with the synthesized voice of the assistant "Rita". Sound insulation was also at a high level: nothing should distract the state husbands from thinking about the fate of comrades.
The rapidly approaching 90s and the subsequent dominance of foreign cars on the market also did not give the ZIL project a chance to survive. The miraculously preserved specimen first stood idle for a long time at the ZIL plant, only occasionally appearing at exhibitions. Now it is located in St. Petersburg and adorns the hall of the Exhibition and Educational Center for the History of Motor Transport of Leningrad, created by St. Petersburg State Unitary Enterprise "Passazhiravtotrans".
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