Remember the good ol’ days when instead of it was us again us, reds against blues, it was us against the real reds, as in the Soviet Union? The Pick of the Day is a car that was built in the former Soviet Union, a 1984 Lada 2106 being advertised on ClassicCars.com by its private seller.
“This Russian car was made in 1984 in the former Soviet Union,”notes the seller, who is in Spokane, Washington. “The vehicle is a prototype of Fiat 124 and was very popular in Eastern block countries in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
“It has 4 cylinder 1.6L engine, runs on gasoline, and has 4 speed manual transmission. This car in a good working condition, all parts are original, even some paint is original.
“This vehicle really turns people heads, especially ones that came from Eastern Europe.”
And fear not, the seller adds, “It is very easy to work on it, and parts are available through some firms in Holland.”
So why is this piece of Soviet history being sold?
“I had a lot of fun with this car and moving to another project. I am happy to answer any questions.”
While Ladas continued to be produced by AvtoVAZ, now a part of French automaker Renault,
Lada was (and still is) a product of Soviet automaker AvtoVAZ, although now that company is an affiliate of Renault. AvtoVAZ was created in the mid-1960s in a joint project by the Soviet Department of Foreign Trade and Italian automaker Fiat, which explains why the Lada on offer looks a lot like a Fiat 124.
Originally, the cars were marketed under the Zhiguli brand, but when exports began, that word not only was too hard to pronounce for non-Russian speakers, but when pronounced it sounded too much like the word gigolo. Zhiguli was replaced by Lada, a Slavic word for a small boat, and thus the brand’s emblem.
The 2105 model was produced from 1980 to 2010, with 2 million units hitting the road. However, as we reported more than a year ago, such cars, at least those from the 1980s and ‘90s, are on the endangered list, at least in the UK.
The 1984 example being advertised on ClassicCars.com, showing 45,263 miles on its odometer, is offered for $12,000. To view this listing, see Pick of the Day.
I drove a 1968 Fiat 124 from new as a company car. It was a reliable car tat I flogged in mountain driving. I would drive this!
My first new car was a 1972 Fiat 124 Special. I rallied it, autocrossed it. It was tops!
Doug
These cars were also popular in some Caribbean countries because of the low entry price and ease of maintenance. I still laugh at the cheeky tagline used by one of my taxi drivers in Jamaica – Lada. Drive like lightening, crash like thunder ! Good luck with the auction
the Lada would be based on a fiat 125 which is a four door sedan, the 124 is a two door sports coupe of the seventies..
The FIAT 124 was indeed a four door sedan and the basis of the Lada. There was a FIAT 124 sport coupé as well. The FIAT 125 was a larger variation on the FIAT 124 sedan. That the Lada is originally derived from the FIAT 124 sedan is a well known and thoroughly established fact.
Michael Peterson is correct: the 124 came as a 4 door and then later as a coupe as well. The 125 was a slightly larger and fancier 4 door sedan, also based on the 124. The 124 (2 door) coupe was in my view one of the prettiest cars of its kind and still is quite attractive today.