Thursday, October 15, 2015

Volga GAZ-3105

Photos for this entry come from one of my other blogs, VreMax, where I first wrote about this car exhibition that I visited a year ago - in August of 2014

The Volga GAZ-3105 that I saw there.


The Volga-3105 was to be a separate model but never saw the (full) light of day and only achieved a limited production run of 55 units. 

It was meant to replace the last Chaika GAZ-14, I think.


It looks a bit uncouth but it's mainly due to the small wheels I think. 

I am sure that if it had made mass production, it would have been continuously improved and would eventually look good. As it happened with most Russian cars.






This press clipping gives the Volga 3105 specs:

  • LxWxH: 5.05x1.8x1.43. Length over 5m means it is a full-size passenger car.
  • Wheel base: 2.87m
  • Weight: 1,800 kg
  • AWD
  • V8 power, 3.38 L, 132 kWt (180 hp)
  • 0 to 100 km/h: 12 sec
  • Top speed: 195 km/h
  • Fuel consumption: 14.1L per 100km 

The article also says that its production (250 units per year) was supposed to have started in 1990 but didn't happen for lack of funds and for some political reasons too. What a shame.


There were several prototypes, and some early prototypes had a unique greenhouse with a lowered beltline as you can see above and below. 

The narrow lower rectangular windows could be lowered separately from the main side window. Does that mean that the upper portions were fixed? I have no idea.

Apparently it was so you could stick your arm out and pay at a toll booth or something like that.

However this feature didn't make it even to limited production run.


Another early variant had a plastic radiator grille as below.






Though only 55 were made, some still ended in private ownership apparently, according to this excellent resource, from which I am borrowing these pictures of somebody's real life Volga GAZ-3105 (which - at 55 units in all - has got to be one of the rarer cars in the world).




At 5050 mm long, it is a long, full-size car.


And another one.


And yet another one in the GAZ factory museum (this one with the low greenhouse as mentioned above).


Test-drive in Russian on Youtube.



Sources of info: this car- and car model website (in Russian) also wikipedia.


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