Soviet cars of the Zaporozhets brand were very often ridiculed. Especially in late Soviet times. However, what most ZAZs could not take away was a truly phenomenal cross-country ability. The car felt confident even on the most severe off-road, despite the fact that it was not an SUV as such. What was the "secret" of ZAZ's success on bumps and mud?
Calling the Cossack dynamic is like calling the ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya fat. At the same time, there is a category of citizens who are deeply convinced that the legendary ZAZ is a car extremely useless, and stories about its cross-country ability are nothing more than an "inflated" cult of the Soviet automotive industry. Only those who have never driven a Zaporozhets and have never been in places where an ordinary passenger car is generally not supposed to appear can think so. Engine power of 27 “horses” can only cause a condescending smile, but along with other technical characteristics, it turned out to be more than enough to overcome impassability. What are these characteristics?
1. Weight
In the matter of mass, "Zaporozhets" is the same Matilda Kshesinskaya from the world of cars. The fact is that for its dimensions the car turned out to be very light. Only 800 kg. Thanks to this, the SUV does not have time to get stuck in the mud, but simply slides on it. However, the low mass would not be able to play if it were not for a couple of other important features.
2. Layout and drive
The layout and drive are the second most important things that determine the high cross-country ability of Soviet ZAZ cars in mud and bumps. If someone did not know, then under the hood of the Zaporozhets there is a trunk, while the engine compartment is in the trunk. At the same time, the cars had exclusively rear-wheel drive. The combination of rear-wheel drive and a rear-engine layout meant that the pushing pair of wheels was always under additional load, which contributed to better overcoming difficult path sections.
3. Clearance
In terms of ground clearance, the good old ZAZ is almost as good as modern SUVs. If for some American Ford Kuga it is 180-185 mm, then for the Soviet Zaporozhets the ground clearance was 140 mm. At the same time, for some models, it even reached the mark of 165-175 mm. This allows ZAZ to successfully pass even where some modern crossovers hopelessly get stuck and get stuck.
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4. Bottom
Another interesting feature of the Soviet car is an absolutely flat bottom. How does it help? Elementary! "Zaporozhets" literally glides through the mud. The most curious thing is that this form of crankcase protection was specially chosen by Soviet designers. Apparently, they also knew about the second eternal misfortune of their native Fatherland.
5. Geometry
In the issue of cross-country ability of the Zaporozhets, geometry decided a lot. Not a math lesson in high school, but the track width, wheelbase, rear and front overhangs, as well as the dimensions of the ZAZ body. As a result, a car from the Ukrainian Kommunar plant had approach and exit angles of 31 and 26 degrees. The higher these angles, the more passable the car is considered. For a better understanding, many modern crossovers have these angles noticeably smaller.
If you want to know even more interesting things, then you should read about 7 facts about "Zaporozhets"which make it unlike other Soviet cars.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/181121/61284/