If you look at it, the auto industry in the Soviet Union was not too sophisticated and did not please citizens with a special variety in the range of cars. Moreover, some cars as a class did not exist at all. In particular, the country did not produce so-called people's trucks that would be used in the national economy.
Then a person from a village or a summer resident could only buy an "Ant", a small motor scooter. Naturally, it was strong and unpretentious in maintenance, but it was still impossible to call it a full-fledged car.
1. The history of the appearance of a mini-truck
In fact, the situation could be completely different and these changes could have occurred in the early sixties of the last century. And the initiator of these changes was Roman Bertelov, the head of the production and technical department of the Estonian motor depot. He himself developed a low-tonnage, small, compact truck, which he called the ET-500.
The first car was designed back in 1965. The name itself speaks of the carrying capacity of the car - 500 kilograms. Its main feature is front-wheel drive.
It is this truck that can be called the first car with front drive wheels. Then there was no talk of the VAZ-2108 yet. A year later, Bertelov's team has already presented a new, improved version of the truck.
The next model was called ET-600 and boasted a carrying capacity of 600 kilograms. A truck was assembled from improvised assemblies and materials. The engine was taken from Zaporozhets. Although he had only 30 liters. with., but they were quite enough for this machine.
2. Design features
The cockpit was designed for driver and passenger and was made of fiberglass, a popular material at the time. Firstly, this is a significant savings in traditional metal. Secondly, the weight of the car has been significantly reduced. The cabin weighed forty kilograms in total, which is very little. It took less than five hours to complete it.
Getting to the engine was easy too. Of the four bolts with which the cab was attached to a welded frame made of rectangular tubes, only two had to be unscrewed. The sides of the platform were made of metal, and the floor looked like a deck made of wooden planks.
The authors of this vehicle had the idea to produce not only an onboard model, but also a van with an interesting opening mechanism. The van was designed as isothermal with a capacity of about three cubes. The wheels, steering and brakes here were from Moskvich-408. At the back of the truck there was a continuous axle, and in front of the spring suspension.
The highest speed of this car is more than 80 kilometers per hour with an average fuel consumption of about seven to eight liters.
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3. The cost of the miracle machine
The cost of the car in the case of mass production was to be 1,300 rubles. For comparison - "Zaporozhets" cost three thousand rubles, which is almost three times more.
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Unfortunately, the country's leadership chose the "Multicar" made in Germany, and our domestic truck never saw the world.
Soviet designers amazed with their imagination and unusual ideas. Find out, why in the USSR they produced trucks with the comfort of a limousine, capable of accelerating to 170 km / h.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/100820/55632/