How the Soviet "Muscovite" won European auto races with the help of cunning

How "Muscovites" ended up in Europe

In 1967, a five-day working week was introduced in the USSR, the film Prisoner of the Caucasus was released, and the Moskvich-412 entered mass production. Encyclopedia "Behind the wheel", the car "Moskvich-412" (aka - 2140). This Soviet car was produced at factories in Moscow and Izhevsk.

Fragment from the movie "The Diamond Arm"

The car favorably differed in appearance from its domestic contemporaries, for example, the GAZ-21, and was equipped with a more powerful engine. Also, the car (after some modifications) one of the first among the Soviet was the Moskvich-412. The Encyclopedia "Behind the Wheel" meets international safety requirements.

Export "Moskvich-412". Photo: Torsten Maue / Wikimedia Commons

GAZ-21. Photo: Thomas Taylor Hammond (1920-1993) / Wikimedia Commons

The thing is that Moskvich-412 was actively sold for export and promoted on the foreign market. It was sent to Europe and Latin America, and limited production (the vast majority of cars were still assembled in the USSR) and maintenance was carried out in Bulgaria, Belgium and Finland at the Rila factories Petrov S. Cars in Bulgaria. Appliances abroad, Scaldia and Konela, respectively.

By supplying products abroad, Soviet manufacturers were forced to compete with foreign ones. One of the tools for promoting the market was participation in auto racing.

What made Soviet cars competitive for European racing

It should be said that Moskvich-412 did not have outstanding racing characteristics. The engine displacement was less than the Moskvich-412. The encyclopedia "Behind the wheel" is 1,500 cm³, and the power is 75 horsepower. For racing versions, special motors were created, but they were not particularly sporty either, giving out from 100 to 125 horsepower. Nevertheless, it was the "Muscovites" that the Soviet racers fell in love with, since their engine was easy enough to modernize.

However, the most important "racing" advantage of this car was its price.

In Europe, "Muscovites" were sold very cheaply, and for the same money it was possible to buy there only much less powerful cars. This feature was the reason for the victories of the Soviet "Muscovites" in British touring - competitions of modified versions of production cars.

The fact is that the British racing series Castrol and Britax in the early 70s were Simmons M. The car that came in from the cold. MotorSports are organized according to the principle of dividing cars into groups according to their value, and not power or the level of out-of-factory modifications (as is usually the case today). "Moskvich", according to this system, fell into the lower (cheaper than £ 600) Group D, in which he simply had no real rivals.

This loophole in the rules and took advantage of the British race car driver Tony Lanfranca.

How Tony Lanfranchi led the Muscovite to victories

Lanfranqui was not a super successful pilot. In the 60s, he did not perform very well with Simmons M. The car that came in from the cold. MotorSport in selected Formula 1, Formula 2 and Formula 5,000 races, as well as the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans. Injured in an accident, he was forced to give up driving powerful racing cars.

Nevertheless, Lanfranchi found his champion car. She became "Moskvich-412". Realizing that, due to its cost and imperfect British touring rules, a Soviet car could win, Lanfranchi turned to Simmons M. The car that came in from the cold. MotorSport to the British dealer of "Muscovites" Satra Motors and persuaded car dealers to provide him and two of his fellow "Muscovites".

The fact is that in group D sometimes there were simply not enough participants: according to the rules, the maximum number of points was awarded to the winners in their category only if at least four cars were at the start. Therefore, Lanfranchi usually invited those of his friends who were free to the competition. So, one of the teammates was the then director of the Brands-Hatch racetrack, John Webb.

As a result, having slightly modified his "Muscovite", Lanfranchi won 28 of the 29 races in which he participated. Simmons M. competed. The car that came in from the cold. He does the MotorSport with small cars like the MINI Cooper or the Honda N600, which also cost less than £ 600. This allowed Simmons M. The car that came in from the cold. MotorSport Lanfranca win an unconditional victory in class D.

1970 MINI Cooper. Photo: Keld Gydum / Wikimedia Commons

1970 Honda N600. Photo: Rex Gray / Wikimedia Commons

In addition, a large number of points scored by Tony in his category made it possible for him and the "Muscovite" to bypass in the final score the main contenders for an absolute victory - BMW 2002 Tii and Ford Capri 3000 GT.

So Tony Lanfranchi became the champion. At the same time, as the racer himself claimed, he did not even try very hard: he drove with his hand out in the open window and the radio turned on, since the car did not accelerate more than 145 km / h.

By the way, Lanfranchi not only competed in his "Muscovite", but also drove it every day on business.

Photo: MotorSport. February. 2002

In 1973 and 1974, the winners were Simmons M. The car that came in from the cold. MotorSport Group D again became Muscovites with Tony Lanfranca, Erich Horsfield and Tony Stubbs at the wheel.

How did this affect the sales of "Muscovites" abroad

In addition to participating in the touring championship, at the turn of the 60s and 70s, the “Muscovites” participated in rally-raids, where they showed the success of the “Muscovites” and “Zhiguli”. Drive yourself like a reliable and tough-duty vehicle. Plus, they were very affordable compared to other cars in their class. In these races, "Muscovites" also competed with Ford and BMW, but, of course, not so successfully.

"Moskvich" car - participant of the rally

This bore fruit - "Muscovites" were in good demand on the foreign market. Their total output was estimated at hundreds of thousands of cars, and two-thirds of the cars produced were Moskvich-412. Encyclopedia "Behind the wheel" for export. In total, "Muscovites" were supplied to more than 70 countries of the world, including Great Britain, Greece, the Netherlands, Finland and the Federal Republic of Germany.

But the success was short-lived. Already in the second half of the 1970s, the export of "Muscovites" practically ceased, since by that time they were already far behind their foreign competitors in technical terms.

Of course, it is difficult to call such achievements honorary, but they give ground for thought. Sometimes it really doesn't take strength or outstanding ability to win: the main thing is to choose the right race. Tony Lanfranchi spoke to Simmons M. The car that came in from the cold. MotorSport: “The Moskvich was not fast … But in fact it looked like any other racing car. I drove a Formula 1 car three or four times, and there was the same principle: you go so fast so as not to hit the wall - and you win."