The GAZ-3102 is a passenger car built by the Gorky Automobile Plant, produced from 1982 to 2008. Pre-production units were assembled in April 1982, with full-scale production launched in October.[1] In total, about 160,000 cars of all modifications were built from 1982 onward.[1]
The pre-chamber engine
The model's main technical distinction was the ZMZ-4022.10 engine with pre-chamber torch ignition — a scheme rarely used in mass-produced Soviet automobiles. It produced 7 horsepower more than the base engine and was more fuel-efficient, but required precise tuning and proved temperamental in use.[1] About 28,000 cars with the pre-chamber engine were produced — up until 1992, when the scheme was abandoned.[1]
Who the car was for
The GAZ-3102 was conceived as a car for mid-level nomenklatura officials and never went on open sale: its place in the hierarchy fell between the ordinary GAZ-24 «Volga» and the representative-class GAZ-14 "Chaika".[2] Hence its colloquial name — the "general's Volga."[1]
After the collapse of the USSR the car was "democratized": the GAZ-3102's body design formed the basis of the GAZ-31029, the first Volga sold on the open market, while the original model remained in production for another decade and a half.