page_title: Lada Niva
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Lada Niva / History
caption_attribution_description: lada niva T3 rally mims
context_page_description: The Lada 4×4, formerly called the Lada Niva or VAZ-2121, is an off-road vehicle designed and produced by the Russian manufacturer AvtoVAZ specifically for the rural market, although models made for urban use are sold. It is marked under the Lada brand.
  It was the first mass-production off-road vehicle to combine a unibody architecture with a coil-sprung independent front suspension, and is a predecessor to current crossover SUVs, nearly all of which follow this format; it inspired the Suzuki Vitara. The Lada 4×4 uses a worm-and-roller steering box carried over from the VAZ-2101 sedan and the original Fiat 124 sedan on which it was based. Pickup and emergency-van versions are produced by VIS-AVTO.
  Following the demise of the Land Rover Defender in 2016, the Niva is the longest running four wheel drive vehicle still in production in its original form.
  In August 2020 Lada took over production of the Chevy Niva rebranding it as the Lada Niva.
context_section_description: The Niva was described by its designers as a "Renault 5 put on a Land Rover chassis" Development began in 1971, after the 24th Congress of CPSU, where Alexei Kosygin (the then-Premier of the Soviet Union) gave the designers at VAZ and AZLK the task of creating a car suitable for rural areas – for the villagers and farmers of the Soviet Union – since the usual Zhiguli, Moskvitch and Zaporozhets, intended primarily for ordinary people, were not much of use in isolated areas, which made up a large part of the USSR. In the same year, a team of VAZ designers, under Vladimir Solovyev as a chief designer, began competing with AZLK to work on a "civilized" four-wheel drive vehicle. The new car was inspired in part by the IZh-14 prototype of 1974. It was VAZ's first model not based on Fiat, although much of its mechanics were carried over from the earlier Fiat 124- or 125-based Zhiguli models (mostly the VAZ-2103 and 2106). However, the body, four-wheel drive system, and front suspension were designed by VAZ. The first prototypes appeared quickly in 1971 and 1972, but were rejected as too utilitarian, so doors and a hardtop were added. This version debuted in 1973 and was a major step away from the off-road vehicles of the period, seeing as they used an ordinary car body, in this case a modern hatchback of the time. This took its inspiration from the prototype known as the VAZ-1101 (itself derived from the Fiat 127), and was created by designer Valery Pavlovitch. The 1974 prototype was finally derived from one of already existing models, in this case the VAZ-2103 (then the newest model in VAZ arsenal), by using its 1,452- cc engine, as well as sharing some of its features, like chrome-plated bumpers, as well as its headlights and taillights, instruments, seats, steering wheel, and other parts. The 1974 prototype was ready to be put into mass production in 1975; however, the appearance of new VAZ-2106 at the end of the same year resulted in its delay due to developing another prototype based on that model.
  Until the beginning of its production, the Niva was in trials over a period of years by a team of VAZ testers under Vadim Kotlyarov in the most difficult terrain of former Soviet Union, such as the Ural Mountains and Siberia, as well as deserts of the Kazakh SSR and the Pamir Mountains in the Tajik SSR, where it was put up against its military counterpart the UAZ-469, and even against some Western off-road vehicles: the British-made Land Rover Series and the Range Rover Classic. In these places, it showed its outstanding off-road capabilities, which were mainly due to its effective (permanent) four-wheel drive system featuring a transfer case and central differential lock, together with the excellent combination of relatively low weight (just over a ton) and small dimensions, combined with high ground clearance (about 265 mm). Also, its large, narrow wheels (175/80-R16), originally featuring domestically designed Voltyre VLI-5 tires, offered relatively strong ground pressure, and thus had good performance in terms of slipping or getting bogged down off-road. For example, in trials during 1973 and 1974, the Niva showed it could climb a 58% slope, and ford 60 cm (24 in) of water and 100 cm (39 in) of mud or snow. Solovyev died the following year, and his place as a chief designer of the project was then taken by engineer Pyotr Prusov, who in the end took credit for creating the car.
  In 1976, the final prototype appeared, with the engine changed to a 1,568 cc (95.7 cu in), the most powerful engine in VAZ range during Soviet era, taken from their newest model the VAZ-2106 (from which the production model of the first Niva generation was generally derived). It also featured permanent four-wheel drive and a transfer case with a lockable central differential. The VAZ prototype displayed better design and real-world performance than its AZLK counterpart, the Moskvitch 416, so was, after the 25th Congress of CPSU, approved for production in March of the same year. (The Moskvitch prototype was then rejected for serial production by the go
caption: Lada Niva T3 Rally
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