«10 minutes of shame and you're at work» — this sarcastic saying belonged to soviet RWD coupe with a V4 engine placed in the rear... who needs these details now? This is all about ZAZ — Zaporozhets, copy of NSU Prinz named “Yalta” for European market. It is perhaps one of the most controversial cars — in Russia it is a hero of anecdotes and it was loved and hated by everyone.
Denis Goncharov from Samara definitely is the fan of the brand. There is something positive in Zaporozhets from childhood, when the trees were larger and sun was brighter. In 2008, Denis decided to build a prototype on basis of ZAZ-968 with the engine from Lada. After installation of the motor in between the axles (yes, the car became a mid-engined with perfect 50\50 weight distribution!), he realized that the car is fast and is winning street starts again and again. Step by step Denis became involved legal drag races and in 2009 he began to show good results in the championship of the Urals and the Volga region. Also it become obvious that 8v engine is not enough powerful for serious motorsports and next planned step was to implement DOHC head. However, a simple replacement of the cylinder head was not the end — Denis was persuaded to assembly a turbo engine, which allowed him to win prizes at practically every stages of the championship of the Volga region and the Urals. Naturally, the engine tuning caused a rebuild of the whole vehicle.
The body was cut in different locations to reduce weight and to facilitate placing units, front and rear arches got extenders, glasses were replaced with Lexan, and an intercooler was installed instead of the rear window to which lead few ducts from the side «windows». Through a small hole in the right side the engine is breathing — there is an air filter situated. Everything was thrown out from the interior, and there appeared a roll cage, two sports seats, a firewall behind the seats with a relay panel and an ABIT ECU. The dashboard is organized above the gear shifter, there are few buttons and instruments from the Lada VAZ-2106 + boost instruments and boost control unit Defi + big «clock» of tachometer with a shift-light. Of course there are sports seatbelts, gear shifter, pedals — everything to dive the car, without any extras.
The drivetrain has Lada roots, as the basis was taken 16valve 1.6 Lada Kalina engine, then everything was tuned and balanced, and custom forged pistons were installed. Cylinder head has also been prepared for the increased amount of the fuel and air. Garrett 2876 supercharges the intake and injectors and fuel pump can pour 300 liters of fuel per hour. Inlet and outlet are homemade and the throttle is 54mm in diameter. The engine can reach 11,000 rpm and has an output of more than 500 hp.
Gearbox is also assembled from Lada parts in heavy duty housing. Main gear ratio is 3.5, screw differential locking is installed, transmission gear ratios are selected in such a way that, according to rumors, in the race with a Lamborghini Gallardo the 5th gear even was not used...
Brakes are practically stock — ventilated disc brakes from Lada with Wilwood proportioning valve. They are sufficient to stop a mad ZAZ from a speed of more than 200 kmh.
The suspension and steering are taken from different cars. For the front: steering from BMW, springs from small VAZ named Oka and KW struts. Rear struts are KONI.
Well, in spite of the Soviet sayings, for this black ZAZ the road to the finish takes not shameful 10.8 seconds and a maximum speed recorded was 212 kmh. Unfortunately, at the moment the project is already closed and the car found a new owner in the Moscow region. Let's see what the results will be.
Specifications:
Body: ZAZ 968M 198
Engine: 1.6 16-valve with Garrett2876 turbo, estimated power — 550 hp ECU — ABIT
Gearbox: Manual, 5-speed with locking differential
Suspension: Front: KW absorbers, Oka springs, steering — BMW
Back: KONI coilovers and springs
Brakes: LADA ventilated disc brakes
Wheels: PIRELLI 145/70 R13 — front
TOYO R888 195/55 R15 — rear
Weight: ~ 1,000 kg with a pilot
Accel. 0–100 kmh: less than 3 sec
Accel. 0–200 kmh: iess than 10 seconds
Quarter time: 10.8 seconds
Max speed: 212 km/h
