GAZ-3110 "Volga" is a passenger car made by the Gorky Automobile Plant, produced from 1997 to 2004. A deep modernization of the GAZ-31029 «Volga» with a new body and interior design.[1]
Concept and outcome
The car received a harmonious silhouette, an interior in the then-fashionable "biodesign" style, a modern sixteen-valve engine and disarming technical simplicity.[1]
Yet in owners' memory the model was remembered for something else: it was let down by careless finishing details, build quality, extremely low body resistance to corrosion, and an archaic suspension.[1] The gap between concept and execution became typical for the "Volga" of the nineties: engineering solutions outpaced the plant's production capabilities of the time.
Place in the family
The GAZ-3110 replaced the GAZ-31029 «Volga» on the assembly line, and was itself succeeded by the GAZ-31105 — the last car of the classic Volga line.[2] The car was produced in two body styles — sedan and station wagon, with the wagon inheriting the rear body section from the GAZ-24-10; buyers could choose between the carbureted ZMZ-402 engine (100 hp) and the fuel-injected ZMZ-4062 (130 hp), with the plant discontinuing the carbureted version in 2003.[2]
Sources
- kolesa.ru — Kolesa.ru — Hitting the bullseye: the development history of the GAZ-3110 (archive)
- carsweek.ru — Pinnacle of Soviet automotive evolution — the last classic "Volga," the GAZ-3110 (archive)