TOP-9 concept cars of the USSR, which were ahead of their time

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The Soviet automobile industry is full of interesting examples worth knowing about. However, among them there are those whose size would not allow them to be invisible on the road, but really few have seen them. But if these units, impressive in their dimensions, went beyond the experimental prototypes, they could turn out to be breakthrough in their fields. Your attention is the "nine" conceptual Soviet cars of impressive size, which were ahead of their time.

1. All-terrain vehicle NAMI-0157

Experts of the Soviet car industry call this unique unit the king of all-terrain vehicles. Indeed, the NAMI-0157 truck, which is a prototype of a snow and swamp-going vehicle with increased carrying capacity, inspires complete confidence in its dimensions in front of impassable roads. This huge all-terrain vehicle was developed in NAMI from 1969 to 1973 with a specific purpose - they were going to adapt it for the needs of the oil and gas industry.

The truck had an original design: two short tracked platforms, one of which was able to withstand the boundary load weight of 8 tons, were interconnected by a special slewing support. The tracks of the machine - rubber-metal in material - were 970 mm wide and were driven by pneumatic rollers, which were installed there, replacing traditional steel rollers.

After the creation of a prototype, it was sent for testing, during which it turned out that this monster of the Soviet automobile industry is capable of accelerating up to 30 km / h, and this, in fact, is high, if not the maximum speed for such equipment. Moreover, the all-terrain vehicle was able to maintain this speed, passing on any surface - snow, swamp, and also sandstone. In addition, the truck freely wade through water bodies up to two meters deep.

However, at the same stage of testing, several design flaws were identified, which, however, did not become an obstacle to the issuance of permission for mass production. Later, the truck was repeatedly refined and changed its names - the most famous modification is considered to be the Ural-5920 snowmobile, which was collected until the collapse of the USSR. And in 2002, the production of such transporters was resumed, but already with the TS-1 index.

2. Self-propelled nuclear power plant of the USSR

An unusual concept for the creation of a self-propelled nuclear power plant began to be developed in the mid-fifties of the last century. The thing is that Soviet industry specialists are faced with the problem of supplying civilian and military facilities in hard-to-reach regions of the Far North. The solution to the problem was the development of a tracked all-terrain version of the PAES.

The facility, officially named "Mobile Nuclear Power Plant TPP-3", was developed based on the experience of designing nuclear reactors for icebreakers. The design used the scheme of a small-sized double-circuit pressurized water reactor. The reactor core looked like a small cylinder.

It should be clarified that the floating power plant was practically simultaneously created in two versions: tracked and wheeled. The latter eventually received the name "Pamir" and, unlike the first prototype, was to be used only in the military sphere. However, both projects were scrapped in the second half of the 1980s - such a fate befell many developments where a nuclear reactor was used in one way or another, after the largest man-made accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986.

3. Army all-terrain vehicle GAZ-69

In the late 1950s - early 1960s, a number of classified projects of cars on snowmobile propellers of the milling type with additional support skis were developed in the USSR. Among these options were those that, in terms of their designs and technical characteristics, had no analogues abroad.

The latter had narrow metal wheels of large diameter with sharp edges around the circumference - such a design, while driving on virgin snow or ice crust, made it possible to cut them to a depth of half a meter, that is, they often reached frozen solid ground. The wheels rested on a monolithic earth surface and, pushing off from it - fortunately, their hardness allowed - were able to move the all-terrain vehicles over the terrain where even tracked vehicles could skid.

A striking example of this type of all-terrain vehicle was the GAZ-69 - an all-terrain vehicle, which was produced in 1956-1973. The car designed, as they say, "from scratch" as a result, became the first in a huge family of modifications, which were striking in their diversity, because from the army all-terrain vehicle "sixty-ninth" they managed to rework to police and post-rural cars, and even a children's fire pump.

4. Airfield vehicle ZIL SAK

This unique car remained in only two copies in the form of experimental prototypes, although it was a rather promising model. The ZIL SAK airfield vehicle was developed at SKB jointly with the Dzerzhinets plant in the period from 1966 to 1968, and was produced at the Moscow plant.

The car was a self-propelled air transport unit of the airfield control system, but outwardly it was a two-section road train with an all-metal body. The functionality of the prototype was also determined: pre-flight preparation and diagnostics of military and civil aviation systems.

ZIL SAK was about five and a half meters long, and had a curb weight of about 4 tons, while the entire road train had the following dimensions - 8, 8 meters and 5.5 tons, respectively. The maximum speed of the concept airfield vehicle is 32 kilometers per hour.

The tests of the prototype were carried out at the military airfield in Zhukovsky, in the Moscow region, but the unusual car never went into mass production. In total, two prototypes of the ZIL SAC were built (the first was assembled on November 28, 1966, the second - on August 1, 1968).

5. Multi-wheeled truck YAG-12

Many-wheeled trucks of Soviet production are known to many, but not everyone knows about the model with which these modifications began. The pioneer of this concept was the YAG-12 truck, which embodied the 8x8 wheel arrangement, that is, it was, moreover, all-wheel drive. In addition, this unit was also one of the first four-axle trucks in the world.

The multi-wheeled YAG-12 was designed back in 1932 on the basis of the three-axle YAG-10 at the Yaroslavl Automobile Plant. As the engine was chosen 8, 2-liter 6-cylinder Continental-22R, power 120 forces - it accelerated the twelve-wheeled giant weighing 20 tons to 45 kilometers per hour. The carrying capacity of the YAG-12 was also very impressive, from 8 to 12 tons, depending on the type of road surface.

Strikingly, there is little information about the history of this advanced truck in many respects. Despite the fact that the manufacturer offered to use the unit in various fields, the only known customer of the YAG-12 was the Red Army, but the further fate of even those copies that were nevertheless put into service with the Red Army are lost.

The project of the YAG-12 truck was closed in 1933, and then four-axle vehicles of heavy carrying capacity and high cross-country ability were not used until the fifties of the 20th century. Perhaps the short-lived fate of the unique automobile giant is simply due to the fact that it was created at the wrong time, which, however, did not prevent it from leaving a noticeable mark on the history of the Soviet automobile industry.

6. Experimental bus UAZ-452K / 452DG

The 16-seat experimental bus UAZ-452K was built in 1973 and presumably had a 6x4 or 6x6 wheel arrangement. In fairness, it should be clarified that this model is far from the only example of a three-nose UAZ car that has been brought to life. Such a non-trivial bus was developed in order to improve the cross-country ability and capacity of an SUV of a wagon layout.

The history of this unusual project is interesting. In fact, the UAZ-452K remained at the prototype level, because it was decided to abandon the mass production of this model after the tests were carried out. So, during the inspections, it turned out that despite the advantages achieved, the complicated design meant an increase in the mass of the bus and, accordingly, higher fuel consumption, which did not suit the customers.

However, later, resuscitation vehicles called "Medea" were developed on its basis. Small-scale production of this model - on average, 50 copies per year - was established only in 1889 - 1994 in Georgia, and the machines themselves went to the needs of local mine rescuers.

There was another similar modification of a three-nose SUV with a wagon layout, and it also came from the Georgian lands. This is a car that was manufactured by the Vezdekhod cooperative in the city of Bolnisi between 1989 and 1994.

7. Dump truck NAMI-0143SHZ

In the mid-sixties of the twentieth century, there was a need for a large unit in the chemical industry, or rather, the Saki Chemical Plant - they needed dump trucks for maintenance. NAMI took over the order for the Crimean production in 1968. Ural-375 was used as a basis.

As a result, the engineers managed to build a real giant with an articulated frame and a dozen pneumatic rollers - they provided minimal pressure on the surface of those parts of estuaries that are characterized by a high silt content. In 1971, an experimental prototype was assembled, which was completely ready for testing, and after the NAMI-0143SHZ dump trucks were operated mainly on the territory of the Crimean Peninsula for fifteen years.

8. Multi-wheeled truck MAZ-7907

In fairness, it should be noted that MAZs are known for a number of multi-wheeled trucks, however, the experimental MAZ-7909 was and remains the crown of this collection in terms of dimensions. This prototype, the only remaining copy, was supposed to be adapted for the launcher of the Celina-2 mobile missile system.

Therefore, there is nothing surprising in the fact that even 16 wheels were not enough for this monster, so there were as many as 24, and each of them was traction. The length of the truck was also amazing - 28 meters. And only a gas turbine tank engine was capable of driving such a colossus.

Two specimens assembled in 1985 were tested, and trial operation was successful, but the MAZ-7907 was never put into service. And, despite the fact that they did not use the multi-wheeled giant, but left it as an exhibit - according to Novate.ru, in 2006, from the remaining elements of the trucks, one was assembled, which is still located on the territory of the Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant - it managed to inscribe itself in history as the only car in the world with 24 driving wheels.

9. Tractor TET-1000

As history shows, not only trucks in the Soviet Union can fall under the definition of "monstrous". A striking example of such an exception is the TET-1000 turboelectric tractor. This project involved the creation of a tractor for the reclamation of soils with a high salt content in the USSR.

The development of the TET-1000 was started by the specialists of the Scientific and Automotive Tractor Institute in the early seventies of the last century. Among a number of design features, it is worth mentioning separately the special structure of the tracks - they dropped perpendicular to the wheels. In addition, the tractor had an electric transmission. The weight of the giant unit was more than 32.5 tons, and the nominal pulling force was 18 tons.

The tests were carried out in appropriate conditions - on saline lands, and the steppes of Kazakhstan were perfect for this purpose. In particular, the turboelectric tractor was tested in conjunction with agricultural implements. However, the monstrous TET-1000 was never launched into mass production.