The GAZ-12 ZIM was the first representative-class automobile of the Gorky Automobile Plant, a large-class six-seat sedan. It was produced from 1950 to 1960, with 21,527 units built, including taxi and ambulance versions.[1][2] The name stood for "Zavod imeni Molotova" ("Plant named after Molotov") — the Gorky automobile plant's name until 1957.
Lipgart's solution
The task was contradictory: build a long, seven-seat, top-class automobile without either a powerful engine or the resources to design one from scratch. Chief designer Andrei Alexandrovich Lipgart found a way out through two decisions at once.
The first was to unify the future car with Gorky "hardware" already in production to no less than half its parts, designing only the body from a clean sheet.[1] The second was to abandon the American body-on-frame layout in favor of a unibody: this markedly reduced mass despite the engine's modest power.[2]
The car was officially put into production on 14 June 1949, and the first industrial batch was assembled on 13 October 1950. For creating the car, Lipgart and his colleagues received the 1950 State Prize.[1]
Design
The six-cylinder engine, with a displacement of 3.48 liters, developed 90 hp. The car's length was 5,165 mm, its wheelbase 3,200 mm, and its weight 1,940 kg; the cabin was designed for seven passengers.[2]
Among the solutions advanced for the Soviet auto industry were a fluid coupling in the transmission, which smoothed out jerks from careless clutch work, and front brakes with two cylinders per wheel.[2]
Who got the car
The ZIM was created as official transport for the Soviet and party nomenklatura. Formally, the sedans also went on public sale, but few buyers could be found for such an expensive car.[2] A notable share of the production run went to taxi fleets and ambulance services.[2]
In the representative-class segment, the ZIM was succeeded by the GAZ-13 Chaika", which entered production in 1959.
Sources
- kolesa.ru — Kolesa.ru — The first limousine from Gorky: the history of development and the fate of the ZIM GAZ-12 (archived)
- zr.ru — Za Rulyom — A sedan for the party committee: the remarkable story of the GAZ-12 ZIM (archived)