A Finnish buyer sits in a new Elite de Luxe - with four headlights, a radio, and ready to hit the road immediately. At the same time, a Soviet engineer receives a postcard with a laconic notification: his turn for a "Moskvich" will come in three to four years. The cars are formally the same, but one is already in use, while the other remains on the waiting list. In 1969, 64% of all AZLK products were sent abroad, and it was economically more profitable for the plant to work for the foreign exchange market than for the domestic buyer.
One of the first difficulties was the issue of names. The word "Zaporozhets" turned out to be almost unpronounceable for Europeans. Therefore, the ZAZ-965 for the Finnish market was named Jalta, and for the Belgian market - Yalta. The association with the Crimean resort looked successful: warmth, relaxation, and simplicity of sound in any language. The Belgian company Scaldia-Volga also equipped export cars with a mirror on the left fender, an ashtray, and a radio - details that the Soviet owner of the basic version could only guess about.
The "Moskvich-408" became a real hit in Finland. In 1965, 1966, and 1968, it ranked first in sales. The local name Elite de Luxe fully corresponded to the level of equipment: chrome moldings and four-headlight optics were standard. Right-hand drive versions with the index 408P were produced for Great Britain, and annual sales there amounted to about 3,000 cars. Some of the cars supplied through Belgium were equipped with English Perkins diesel engines with a volume of 1.5 liters - an option that was not provided for the Soviet market in principle.
The differences were even more pronounced in the example of the Volga GAZ-24 in the export version. Car kits without engines were sent to Belgium, where French Peugeot Indenor XD2P diesel engines with a capacity of 62 hp were then installed. The sedan received the index GAZ-24-76 Scaldia, the station wagon - GAZ-24-77. A total of about 8,000 of these cars were assembled. When some of these cars subsequently returned to the USSR, the owners faced the problem of a complete lack of spare parts for the French power unit.
The Lada Natasha convertible was the result of cooperation between Scaldia-Volga and Togliatti designer Vladimir Yartsev in 1990. The open "eight" was assembled in small batches in Belgium and Germany. The body was reinforced with an additional frame, providing even higher rigidity than the factory one. The name was chosen with a view to European perception: short, soft, and understandable without translation. 456 copies were produced in five years. In France, such a convertible cost 79,900 francs, while a regular "Samara" was estimated at 53,700.
From 1996 to 1998, the Finnish company Valmet Automotive produced the Lada Samara Baltic at the same plant where the Porsche Boxster was assembled. The "Nine" underwent improved welding and high-quality painting, and the steering wheel with an airbag was supplied by Volkswagen. Before that, no serial Lada had received an air bag. Welded seams were masked with moldings, the seats were upholstered in velour, and sound insulation was performed in three layers. Instead of the planned 20,000 cars per year, 14,000 copies were assembled during the entire period, but the German ADAC recognized the Baltic as the most economical model to maintain in its class.
In Canada, the VAZ-2105 was sold under the name Lada Signet. Dealers offered versions with a three-speed automatic transmission from Chevrolet Chevette - the Soviet buyer did not even suspect such a configuration. The VAZ-2104 station wagon was launched on the market as the Signet Wagon with a guarantee of three years or 80,000 km of mileage. In France, in 1993, a limited series of Lada Kalinka Olympe appeared, equipped with a catalyst and four engine options.
The differences between internal and export versions were not limited to the list of options. For the British market, cars were made of thicker metal, the transmission was reinforced, a different starter was installed, and the body was carefully treated with anti-corrosion compounds. The VAZ-21041 modification with a 1.2-liter engine was intended for countries where taxes depended on the engine displacement. In fact, each market received its own version of the same model - taking into account local requirements and expectations.
Read more materials on the topic:
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- "Moskvich" Must Be Expensive to Survive
