Development of the planned replacement for the GAZ-21 Volga began in 1961. The GAZ-24 Volga was planned to have 7-10 year lifetime, lasting through the 1970s. However, even before its 1968 première, it was already behind schedule and as the USSR slipped into the Era of Stagnation, following Alexey Kosygin's 1965 Soviet economic reform, the car was to become an iconic feature of that era, both aesthetically and technically. Developed in the mid-1960s it would undergo a series of modernisations and facelifts, and despite unsuccessful attempts to find a replacement (GAZ-3105, GAZ-3111 and the Siber), the car would only be retired in 2009 - 40 years after the first series began production.
First series — the GAZ-24 (1970–1985)
Design of GAZ-21's replacement began in the early 1960s, with sketches gradually showing a more angular and rigid profile. GAZ planned to keep a modernised version of the four-cylinder engine and manual transmission in the base model, but a prototype also appeared with a 120 PS 2,990 cc V6 engine.[3] The first prototypes were built in 1966, and a year later the car was certified for production. For economic reasons the V6 model, despite showing promising results, was deemed unfeasible for mass production. The first batch of 24 vehicles were assembled in 1968 but it took until 15 July 1970 for the car to finally supersede the GAZ-21 on the conveyor belt.
Despite its more imposing appearance, the GAZ-24 was in fact 75 mm shorter in length and 120 mm in height, yet its wheelbase was extended by 10 mm. The lower body waist line, allowed the window area was to be increased, whilst using thinner linings in doors, roof, and other body panels notably increased interior space. The car was powered by the 2,445 cc[4] ZMZ-24D engine, an evolution of the ZMZ-21A. Transmission was now a fully synchronised four on the floor layout, and the brakes were improved with a hydraulic vacuum servo unit as well as an independent parking brake (rather than the GAZ-21's transmission brake). Certain features were retained for their proven reliability, like the kingpin front suspension[5] and recirculating ball steering.
The car was built in several modifications and these were now indicated by numbers rather than letters. Though the vehicle never underwent a generational facelift on the scale of the GAZ-21, nonetheless the car was modernised with continuous technical improvements during production. In the original design brief, the GAZ-24 was to be retired by 1978, but GAZ was forced to update the 24 instead. After a light refresh in 1977, the GAZ-24-10 appeared in 1985, receiving many of the features developed for the GAZ-3102, the 24's intended successor. Including the GAZ-24-10, almost one and a half million such Volgas were produced until 1992. The lion's share of cars were used for the Soviet nomenklatura and the rest mainly in taxi, police and ambulances.
Second series—the GAZ-3102 and derivatives
Manufacture of the 3102 began in 1981, with its official launch the next year.[6] However, such car would never see light, as the 1970s unrolled, the stagnation era effects has significantly thwarted any innovation in Soviet Union's planned economy structure. Moreover, the Minister of Automotive Industry, Viktor Polyakov, had open favouritism for the new VAZ giant, and thus neither AZLK's 3-5 project, nor GAZ's ambitious third-generation Volga would see their respective conveyors. In 1973 more economic solution was adopted for the future car, that rotated around giving a major upgrade to the GAZ-24 by replacing most of the mechanics, the body panels, the interior yet keeping the skeletal body sections and platform, thus avoiding the most costly replacement of production press stamping.
The first users of the 3102 were the KGB and other government bodies through 1983.[7] It proved unavailable to the public until after the collapse of the Soviet Union.[8] This limited availability has given the 3102 a particular cachet in Russia (even over the Mercedes common among the privileged), allowing GAZ sell it at a markup.[9]
GAZ-3102 (1982–2009)
By 1980 a replacement was developed, the GAZ-3102, which was based on the central platform and body of the GAZ-24, but with original fascia, interior, engine and chassis. However, political and economic stagnation of the late Brezhnev years continuously delayed the car's launch. From 1982 and all the way until 2008, the GAZ-3102 was produced in parallel with other Volgas, though in lesser quantities. Originally having its own production line and many distinct features, by 1997 the differences between production, trim and accessories of GAZ-3102 and latter Volga's was external only. Having originally been an exclusive car for higher ranking authorities, it retained such an image during the 1990s and well into the 2000s. In 1992, when the original machine tooling for the GAZ-24 body panels disintegrated, GAZ used the bodypanels of the GAZ-3102 on the somewhat obsolete but lower-cost GAZ-24 underpinnings. Production of the resulting GAZ-31029 doubled in quantity and halved in quality, transforming the car from a symbol of status into a disposable workhorse.
Third series—the GAZ-3110 and 31105
GAZ-3110 (1997–2004)
Though deemed temporary until GAZ's own LCV cars, the GAZelle and Sobol, entered production, the GAZ-31029 Volga occupied a major market niche, and demand for the vehicle remained. Thus in 1997 GAZ modernised the car once more, creating original body panels, whilst retaining the GAZ-24's central shell. This removed the visual dissonance that the 31029 created, and by incorporating the chassis and powertrain developed for the new Gazelle families (which in turn were designed for the aborted GAZ-3103/04/05 Volgas), combined with a new interior resulted in GAZ-3110 model. Given the timing, with the 1998 financial crises that followed, which left many foreign equivalents outside the budget Russia's business and public alike, the GAZ-3110 proved a necessity rather than a cheap alternative during the post-crises years.
GAZ-31105 (2004–2009)
GAZ-31105 was a second stage of the GAZ-3110's modernisation, though the designation was applied to cars produced from January 2004, the mechanical features were introduced almost a year earlier, and certain external ones were available in separate batches as standard or optional in others.
GAZ-3110 (1997–2004)
Though deemed temporary until GAZ's own LCV cars, the GAZelle and Sobol, entered production, the GAZ-31029 Volga occupied a major market niche, and demand for the vehicle remained. Thus in 1997 GAZ modernised the car once more, creating original body panels, whilst retaining the GAZ-24's central shell. This removed the visual dissonance that the 31029 created, and by incorporating the chassis and powertrain developed for the new Gazelle families (which in turn were designed for the aborted GAZ-3103/04/05 Volgas), combined with a new interior resulted in GAZ-3110 model. Given the timing, with the 1998 financial crises that followed, which left many foreign equivalents outside the budget Russia's business and public alike, the GAZ-3110 proved a necessity rather than a cheap alternative during the post-crises years.
GAZ-31105 (2004–2009)
GAZ-31105 was a second stage of the GAZ-3110's modernisation, though the designation was applied to cars produced from January 2004, the mechanical features were introduced almost a year earlier, and certain external ones were available in separate batches as standard or optional in others.
