The Hunchback of Ukraine

23 September, 2008, 17:38

The last authentic Ukrainian car – a Zoporozhets – has left the Zaporizhia Automobile Building Plant (ZAZ) in south eastern Ukraine to be the last of its kind to face the world. ZAZ used to be at the heart of Soviet car manufacturing, with its activity stretching beyond the collapse of Communism into the present day.

For nearly half a century, it was the Soviet people's car. Like the Volkswagen Beetle in Germany, the ZAZ-965 (or  Zaporozhets', as it became known) was designed in 1958 to be the most affordable and sturdy car for ordinary people. Even Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin admits that the Zaporozhets was his first car. Yet, the Zaporozhets was more than just a mode of transport – it gained a reputation as a true hero of Soviet folklore.
 
The key to the Zaporozhets' success was its affordability. The local factory legend states that the head engineer, Vladimir Steshenko, developed a pricing formula at the very early stages of the car's design. It stated that the Zaporozhets shouldn't cost more than a thousand bottles of vodka.

 
Indeed, in 1958 a bottle of vodka in the USSR cost 1,8 roubles. A ZAZ-965 (the first ever model of Zaporozhets to be produced) was priced at 1800 roubles. When the price of vodka rose to 2,2 roubles, so did the price of a Zaporozhets, increasing to 2200 roubles. A special type of hand-operated Zaporozhets – devised for disabled people – was distributed freely by the state throughout Soviet years.
 
The car's very design begged for nicknames which stuck to the car and its various reincarnations throughout its history. It was called “hunchback” because of its original trunk design. The air intakes on the car's sides – used to cool down the engine – earned it the nickname of “big ears”. A later model of the car which had shed its “ears” (due to a water-cooled engine) was christened “the soap box”.
 
Over the years, urban legends have revered both: the cars' sturdiness and their constantly-broken state. A popular Soviet joke suggests that a Zaporozhets should come with a free mat so that the owner can service it more comfortably. Perhaps the commonly-accepted low standards of production are the reason why the car is sometimes called a “zapor” – short for “Zaporozhets” which also translates as “constipation” from Russian. The car's safety is also much debated. Some say that all the crash tests on the Zaporozhets failed since the crash test dummies were so terrified that they got out of the car and ran away.
 

Some urban myths, on the other hand, recall the Zaporozhets passing unharmed through fields, ravines and even rivers. Some of the cars most vehement fans are convinced that it is indispensable for Russia roads (about the state of which even more jokes circulate). A common (and false) legend states that the Zaporozhets' engine was used as a starter motor in Soviet tanks. Whatever may be the truth, one thing is for sure – the Zaporozhets' engine is at the back, making it a “Soviet Ferrari” (another popular tongue-in-cheek expression).

However, it is the “Tavria” – a “high-tech” offspring of the Zaporozhets – which was meant to become a “popular race car”. First produced in 1987, it maked the USSR's strive towards the West. Its design was allegedly inspired by the Aston Martin, nevertheless, many complaints were made over how quickly it rusted, how badly it operated on the road and how unsafe it was. Many mocked it for trying to escape from what it truly was at heart – a good old Zaporozhets. 

Now, ZAZ has had to halt the production of these era-defining cars. The assembly plants were labeled to be in disaccord with EU ecological standards and had to be restructured. The Zaporozhets plants did not survive the rebuild, giving way to more modern designs, such as the Lanos Chevrolet intended for distribution on the Ukranian and Russian markets. And although the Chevrolet is also meant to be affordable and sturdy, it will probably not earn as much of a reputation as the famous hunchback.