Classic Cars with History: Zil, a symbol of Soviet power

I’ve just read that Vladimir Putin has ordered the restart of the production line at the Zil factory, a former Russian brand that during the Soviet era produced tanks, amphibious vehicles, trucks, vans and even sports cars. Putin says all his officials will have to stop using their Audi, Mercedes or BMW and switch to vehicles made in Russia.

But first, let’s look at what Zils were. The acronym stands for Zavod imeni Likhachova (literally, factory named after Likhachov), one of the oldest automotive companies, founded in 1916. It began with the intention of building trucks, but ended up manufacturing the famous limousines used by senior members of the Communist Party, an idea driven by Stalin himself.

Zil continued making party vehicles until 1988, the year the last model left the factory. Given the sinister history of this true tank, we could expect nothing less than armour of varying thicknesses, capable of withstanding grenade or rocket attacks. As a result, the final 1988 model weighed in at 3,500 kilos.

All these limousines were equipped with impressive V8 engines of various displacements. Technically they were not cutting-edge; almost all of them had a three-speed automatic gearbox, and inside they offered all the comfort a party member could ask for. And more.

Putin will have to invest 2.5 billion euros to revive Zil and turn it into a modern car factory. At present the plant assembles vans and light trucks, along with 10 to 15 limousines a year, which are still built by hand, made to order.