The ZIL-157 is a general-purpose 2 1/2-ton 6×6 truck, produced at the Likhachev plant in the Soviet Union from 1958 to 1977, when production was transferred to the Amur plant, since the Likhachev plant wanted to focus more on modern trucks, such as the ZIL-131 range. Nevertheless, production of the ZIL-157 trucks continued even after the fall of the Soviet Union, but eventually ended in 1994.
History
Some time after the start of serial production of the ZIS-151, the revision of the ZIS-151 began. The new project was given the title ZIS-157. By 1956, two prototypes had been produced, which had some technical innovations compared to the ZIS-151. This also included tires specially developed for this vehicle, which were particularly wear-resistant due to the use of several layers of material. The spare wheel was no longer mounted behind the driver's cab, but under the truck, which allowed the frame and thus the entire truck to be shortened. A tire pressure control system was also installed, which significantly improved off-road capability.[1]
Series production began on September 18, 1958 in Moscow. In the course of de-Stalinization, however, it was now renamed ZIL-157, as the plant was renamed in 1956 from "Zavod imeni Stalina" to "Zavod imeni Likhacheva".