Lada VAZ-2101

Lada VAZ-2101 at a glance

The VAZ-2101 is the first car built by AvtoVAZ, a compact family saloon produced from 1970 to 1982 as the base model of a family that lasted until 1988. The factory itself was built with Fiat's help in the late 1960s to make it. For the story of the company that followed, see our AvtoVAZ history.

In the USSR the car was the Zhiguli; for export, the name Lada was chosen in September 1971 from a magazine competition that drew 1,812 entries. Owners often call the 2101 "Kopeika".

Development and production history

The VAZ-2101 began with a 1966 agreement between Fiat and the Soviet government to help build a new car plant and put a Fiat model into production there. The chosen car was the Fiat 124, presented in 1966 and named European Car of the Year for 1967. Inside Fiat the Soviet version carried the designation 124R.

Fiat's car was not left as it was. Durability testing showed that the body and running gear needed strengthening for poor roads and harsh conditions, and the final specification differed from the Fiat in more than 800 details. One condition worked in Fiat's favour: the Soviet-built car was barred from sale in Italy, to protect the 124 in its home market.

Production started in April 1970. German reference sources put the first batch at six cars on 19 April, while English-language company histories give 22 April, so only the month is certain. About 22,000 cars were built in 1970, and the 100,000 mark followed by July 1971. By the end of 1973 the plant had a capacity of 660,000 cars a year, and on 21 December 1973 it reached its one-millionth car.

When exports ended is less clear: English-language sources say 1989, German ones 1984.

Design and engineering: what changed from the Fiat 124

The VAZ-2101 looks almost identical to the Fiat 124, but underneath it is a stronger, taller and heavier car built for rougher use.

Ground clearance was raised to 170 mm (6.7 in) laden, about 30 mm (1.2 in) more than the Fiat. The Fiat's rear disc brakes gave way to drums, which cope better with mud and dirt. The front discs measure 252.7 mm (9.95 in) and the rear drums 250 mm (9.84 in). The system is dual-circuit, with a load-dependent rear brake limiter.

The body uses thicker steel and extra reinforcement, added after cracks appeared in durability testing. This, together with the other changes, made the car about 90 kg (198 lb) heavier than the Fiat. Early cars also had a hand-crank starting handle and an auxiliary fuel pump; the starting handle was dropped later. Fiat required a national service network for the new car, and a locally developed antifreeze, Tosol A40, was introduced with it.

Suspension and steering

The chassis layout follows the Fiat pattern, with independent front suspension and a live rear axle. At the front, unequal-length wishbones carry coil springs and telescopic dampers. At the rear, a rigid axle is located by four trailing arms and a Panhard rod, again on coil springs. Steering is a worm-and-roller type. Tyres are 6.15-13 on 4½J × 13 steel wheels.

The 2101 is a simple car to understand and work on. Fuel is supplied by a carburettor, the camshaft is driven by a chain rather than a belt, and the suspension uses coil springs all round.

Engine and drivetrain

The VAZ-2101 engine is a water-cooled 1,198 cc inline four with a chain-driven single overhead camshaft and two valves per cylinder. It replaced the Fiat's overhead-valve unit, was designed by the NAMI research institute and, according to English-language sources, was never used in Fiat's own cars.

Bore and stroke are 76 × 66 mm (2.99 × 2.60 in), and a two-stage downdraught carburettor supplies the mixture. Output is 44 kW (60 PS) under the DIN standard. Soviet documents quote 46 kW (62 PS) under the GOST standard; it is the same engine measured differently. Torque is 87 N·m (64 lb-ft). The compression ratio is usually quoted as 8.5:1; German sources say it was 8.8:1 at first and reduced to 8.5:1 around 1975–1976.

The 21011 introduced a 1,294 cc engine with a larger 79 mm (3.11 in) bore and the same stroke. It produces 48 kW (65 PS) DIN, or 51 kW (69 PS) by GOST, with 93 N·m (69 lb-ft) of torque.

Power goes to the rear wheels through a single dry-plate clutch and a four-speed, fully synchronised manual gearbox. The clutch is hydraulically operated.

Lada VAZ-2101 specifications

The table covers the 1.2-litre VAZ-2101 saloon. Figures are catalogue and reference-book values; where sources differ, a range is given.

Period road tests recorded 8.0–10.2 L/100 km (23.1–29.4 mpg US). For comparison, the 1.3-litre 21011 is quoted at 145 km/h (90 mph), 18 seconds to 100 km/h and a kerb weight of 1,010 kg (2,227 lb).

Variants and derivatives

The 2101 family covers three saloons, estates, right-hand-drive export cars, an upmarket sister model and police specials. Export names follow engine size: Lada 1200 for the 2101, 1300 for the 21011, 1200S for the 21013 and 1500 for the 2103.

English-language sources give 27 April 1972 as the start of 2102 production, German ones date its introduction to 1971, and more than 660,000 were built before it ended in 1986. The single-rotor Wankel in the 21018 proved short-lived, with an engine life quoted at about 20,000 km (12,400 mi); the two-rotor 21019 came later.

In service: operation, reliability and legacy

The VAZ-2101 was exported widely from its second year, and its basic engineering stayed in production for decades. Yugoslavia received the first export cars in 1971, followed by Finland, the Netherlands and Belgium. Cuba took cars from 1971. UK sales began in May 1974, making the 2101 family the first Ladas sold in Britain, and Canada followed in 1978. The car was never sold in the United States.

According to German reference figures, AvtoVAZ built 682,000 cars of the Zhiguli range in 1976, which would have made it the best-selling car series in the world that year, ahead of the Volkswagen Golf and the Oldsmobile Cutlass. The 2101 family alone is usually put at about 4.7 million cars between 1970 and 1988.

Known weak points

The best-documented weakness is the crankshaft, which wore faster than it should have. Parts supply was a problem for about two years around 1980, and carburettors made before about 1980 are generally rated better than later ones.

Legacy

The 2101's real legacy is the platform. The 2103, 2106 and 2105 all used its basic layout, and in the UK the Lada Riva took over from 1983. Estimates for all Fiat 124-derived Lada cars range from more than 14 million to about 17.3 million.

AvtoVAZ later moved to front-wheel drive with models such as the VAZ-2109 and the VAZ-2110 saloon, and the Lada Granta, presented in 2011, shows how far the range has travelled. The full range is in our list of all Lada models.

Collecting and preserving a VAZ-2101

For collectors, the VAZ-2101 is interesting mainly as the starting point of the Lada story and as the closest Soviet relative of the Fiat 124. It sits among other Soviet classic cars and the wider group of classic cars of the 1970s, and its simple engineering helps keep one running.

Identifying the exact version is the first step, because the saloons look very similar:

• Bumpers: a rubber bumper strip arrived with the 21011 in 1974.
• Indicators and dashboard: flat indicator lenses and new dashboard trim point to a 21011 or 21013.
• Brakes: self-adjusting rear brakes arrived with the 21011.
• Starting handle: a hand-crank starting handle and auxiliary fuel pump belong to early cars.

Published sources say little about values, club registers or parts supply, so we do not quote any; an inspection by someone who knows these cars is the safer route. Other compact saloons of the period make useful comparisons.