GAZ-3102

GAZ-3102 at a glance

The GAZ-3102 is a large rear-wheel-drive saloon that sat above the everyday Volga in GAZ's range. In the 1980s it went to state organisations and official users, and English-language Wikipedia dates its sale to private buyers to 1993. The production span is usually given as 1982–2009; one Wikipedia article ends it in 2008, another says the car was retired in early 2009, so output wound down over those two years.

Development and production history

Work on a successor to the GAZ-24 began soon after that car entered production. The first GAZ-3101 prototypes were running by 1973 at the latest, with experimental V8 and V6 engines; a 1976 prototype carried a 2,990 cc V6 of about 101 kW (136 hp). Pre-production was planned for 1978, but approval stalled for about two years.

GAZ resubmitted the project early in 1980 as the GAZ-3102 with a four-cylinder engine and showed it at the 1980 Olympic Games. Hand assembly started in April 1982 at about 3,000 cars a year, rising to around 10,000 a year by 1996. In the 1980s the 3102 made up roughly 8–10% of GAZ passenger-car output. The GAZ-24 it was meant to replace stayed in production until 1992, and from 1985 its simplified GAZ-24-10 version borrowed many 3102 parts and styling details.

Design and engineering

GAZ kept the main body structure of the GAZ-24 for cost reasons and changed the ends of the car and its equipment. The 3102 gained a new front end and headlights, a new rear, doors without triangular quarter windows and recessed handles. Inside came a redesigned dashboard, a safety steering column, a heated rear window and headlight washers.

The fuel tank moved behind the rear seat to meet ECE rules, with the spare wheel taking its place in the boot. The front suspension was reinforced, corrosion protection improved and some brake parts were shared with the Moskvich-2140. The result was about 50 kg heavier than the GAZ-24.

Engine and drivetrain

The 1982 car used the ZMZ-4022.10, a 2,445 cc inline four with stratified charge and torch ignition: a small pre-chamber with a rich mixture lit a leaner main charge. It produced 77 kW (105 PS) at 4,750 rpm and 182 Nm (134 lb-ft) at 2,500–3,000 rpm, against 95 hp for the GAZ-24's engine. A low-compression version ran on 76-octane petrol, and a four-speed manual drove the rear wheels.

From 1992 GAZ fitted the conventional ZMZ-402.10 of the same capacity, rated at 73.5 kW (100 PS), with a 66 kW (90 PS) low-compression version alongside. The 1990s brought five-speed gearboxes, power steering, better brakes and 15-inch wheels. The fuel-injected twin-cam ZMZ-406 of 2,287 cc, quoted at about 108 kW (145 hp), arrived in 1996 or 1997 depending on the source. From 2007 to 2009 a four-speed Aisin Warner automatic was also offered.

GAZ-3102 specifications

The figures are for the 1982 car. Sources quote kerb weights of 1,455 kg and 1,470 kg, so the table shows an average.

The GAZ-24 needed about 22 seconds to reach 100 km/h and topped out at 145 km/h (90 mph), so the gain was clear.

Modernisation stages, not generations

Our catalogue lists five generations, but the sources describe one body updated in stages, and only some can be dated.

1982–1991: the original car

The stratified-charge car described above, built by hand for official users. The V8 and Wankel versions of 1989 belong here.

GAZ-31029 (1992–1997)

The GAZ-31029 was the volume version: the GAZ-24 centre section with a revised front end and the ZMZ-402.10. Sources put output at 521,650 to 529,604 cars, and English-language Wikipedia notes that quality suffered as volumes rose. With the ZMZ-406 and five speeds it reached 170 km/h (106 mph) and 100 km/h in 13.5 seconds. The 3102 continued alongside as the better-equipped car.

Mid-1990s to 2009: new engines and an automatic

The ZMZ-406, five-speed gearbox and power steering mark the third stage, and the 2007–2009 automatic is the last documented change. We found no source for the 2003 and 2006 boundaries in our catalogue.

GAZ-3102 variants and derivatives

The V8 cars, preceded by a 4.25-litre 31011 prototype in 1984, used engines related to those of the GAZ-13 and GAZ-14 Chaika and served state security bodies.

In service: operation, reliability and legacy

For most of its life the 3102 was a working official car: roomy and conservative, with a body that dated back to 1970. No published reliability survey covers it, so we do not repeat owner folklore as fact.

Successors arrived while it was still being built. The Volga-3105, conceived to replace it, was dropped long before it, and the GAZ-3110 of 1997 took over from the 31029. The 31105 followed in 2004, while the Volga-3111 never reached volume production. The 3102 outlasted them on the line; the final Volga saloon was the Chrysler-based Volga Siber of 2008–2010. Our history of GAZ covers the wider story.

Preservation and collecting today

An early stratified-charge 3102 is now a period piece among classic cars of the 1980s, and survivors range from hand-built Soviet cars to injected cars of the 2000s. Identification comes first: a 3102, a 31029 and a GAZ-24-10 share most of their body, and an engine may have been changed during a long service life. The ZMZ-4022, ZMZ-402 and ZMZ-406 need different parts and knowledge, and the body deserves a close corrosion check, as on any steel saloon of the era. We do not publish values. For related models, see all GAZ models.