In 1976, the new Minister of Automotive Industry of the USSR, Viktor Polyakov, visited ZAZ and finally “legalized” work on promising cars. He ordered the Volzhsky Automobile Plant to be involved in the work – the two enterprises were supposed to jointly work on the VAZ-1101 and ZAZ-1102 models, significantly unifying these cars.
According to the technical specifications, the ZAZ-1102 was supposed to have two body types – a “two-door sedan” and a “three-door sedan” (that is, a hatchback). VAZ designer Igor Galchinsky developed the design of these cars, and full-size two-sided mock-up was made.
Little is known about the running prototypes. Only one black and white photograph has survived to this day, in which a prototype of the “Perspective” of this generation participates in a rally in the city of Stryi (Lviv region) in 1979. ZAZ tester Ivan Koshkin recalled that these cars were painted in three colors: golden ocher, cherry and white.
One of the cars of this little-known series has survived to this day, the only one of the “Perspectives” of all generations. Back in the Soviet years, the aforementioned Koshkin bought it from the factory, drove it for a long time, and then sold it. In 2021, the car was discovered in Ukraine by automobile industry history enthusiasts and has now been restored. In addition, some details from another prototype of the same series have been preserved.
After testing this series of samples, the history of the ZAZ-1102 project was restarted. Igor Galchinsky accepted the offer to head the ZAZ design center and moved to Zaporozhye. He designed the next series of prototypes in the style of the Ford Fiesta. After 11 years, this car became the production model ZAZ-1102 Tavria.
Albums
So far, only one old photograph of a ZAZ-1102 of this generation is known.
Back in the Soviet years, the car was bought by ZAZ employee, test driver Ivan Koshkin, who drove it for a long time and then sold it. The car was found by enthusiasts in 2021. In 2022, it underwent restoration without restoring its original appearance – in particular, the original front lighting equipment was lost. This is the only survived car from the entire family, known under the unofficial name “Perspective”.