The car press always said that there were only three car manufacturers that were involved with the Wankel engine. NSU, Mazda and Citroën. After reading this article, that is a thing of the past.
Between 1974 and 2004, Lada has designed, built and tried out thirty different Wankel engines in racing and rally cars, but also boats, planes, motorcycles, ekranoplans (a kind of Russian hovercraft) and various Lada prototypes. NSU and Mazda continued to dream of the Wankel engine in the 1970s, Citroën introduced the Birotor engine to immediately cancel it again. Incidentally, this dream had caused several car manufacturers to move in the direction of the Wankel engine. Including Lada, although the Soviets were already doing this in the early 1960s.
Experimenting with the Wankel engine
In 1974, as we have recently learned, a department was set up at the Lada plant in Tolyatti where Russian scholars were allowed to work unrestrained on the Wankel engine. The plan was to develop such an engine for installation in an everyday car. In 1978 (!) - there was therefore plenty of time - fifty Lada 2101s - type designation Zhigulis - were equipped with an 70 pk strong single-disc Wankel engine. They were intended for the police and the KGB.
Greedy
It took a while before Lada could do nothing but confirm what Western manufacturers were already doing, the engine consumed an awful lot of gas and the life of the machine was very limited, or barely 20.000 kilometers. When that also became clear there, the specially created development department was closed and dismantled. However, not after they could have made the general public happy until 1982 with a series of 250 pieces ...
'Closed and dismantled' ...
... was an elastic term in the days before the Iron Curtain was opened. The development department declared dead was given a different function: dogonyalka which means something like 'wolf in sheep's clothing', the development and construction of cars for special Soviet units. You should think of the Volgas that were fitted with an 5,5 liter V8 engine from a Chaika limousine for the KGB. The police and the lower regions of the KGB did not have such material. Police in a Lada 1600 chasing criminals in the same car, of course nicely agreed with the socialist principle - 'all the same' - but gave the criminals free rein. The police had no chance in advance if the criminals could use something as simple as a Volkswagen Passat ... 'Money' was not a problem in Russia at the time, so it was not looked at whether it all cost anything. The company that had occupied themselves with the Wankel engine at the factory in Tolyatti was given a new chance. It was already indicated in advance from a higher hand that the high fuel consumption and the short life span of the engine should not be an obstacle to tinkering further. This created the engine with two rotors, which 120 hp delivered to the asphalt, a power that the Ford Cortina Lotus had become famous with. After the 2101, Wankel versions of the Lada Riva, Samara and 110 followed.
The engine power increased, but it was not considered necessary to adjust the chassis. In a report on the Samara - good for 135 horsepower on the wheels - the reporter was surprised that the driven tires in the third and fourth gears were still spinning ..., that the brakes were of course not able to cope with the speed, that the car was above the 170 kilometers per hour felt like a runaway flying carpet. All this tinkering also led to the KGB Volga 3102s being equipped with a three-wheel Wankel engine built by Lada that was good for 210 hp on the wheels. And indeed, also with wheel spin in third and fourth gear. Unfortunately (...?) Only two prototypes were built, which were demolished after their test period ... and no, they were never taken into production ... On the other hand, the Lada 21059, a Riva that delivered 140 hp to the road surface thanks to a twin rotor engine. Only for sale in Russia ...
Photo: Lada also entered the rally world with the Wankel engine. Pay attention to the straps, the handlebars, the seats
At that time we were Glass dealer Gremi in Groningen when importer Glass was taken over by Alimpo BMW. Later we got a visit to Gremi for a rest and decided to start with Lada but my father didn't like that Russian brand and stopped the Gerb . Been and have switched to Mazda, which has been a better choice. Gremi was a pleasant importer by the way. Stef Hartogs Nijmegen.
The name zhigulis is difficult for us Europeans to pronounce, so the women's name LADA is the best known and most widely used girls name. who quickly traded in for a European car end exercise for Lada, nowadays Lada in Russia has become a beautiful modern car.
Zhiguli is the brand name for what is called Lada here, but that did not work well in other countries. A unique commercial boom to call the export Zhigulis Lada and not so much a certain type of Lada as the article says.