Rally "Niva. Rally history

Rally "Niva. Rally history

01.04.2019

The Soviet Niva (VAZ-2121, now LADA 4x4) became famous throughout the world as the first off-road vehicle. This model can go through almost any off-road. It is logical that the SUV has repeatedly taken part in various rally competitions, including the legendary Paris-Dakar rally. The AUTOSPORT.com.ru portal published an article on the participation of Niva in these competitions. Lada Club publishes this article in full.

How the Soviet "Niva" conquered main rally marathon planets

There are ten days left before the start of the 40th anniversary Dakar. Now, foreign automakers are well-known in the off-road category, but once the Russian Niva was close to success in the legendary rally-raid. AUTOSPORT.com.ru tells the story of VAZ-2121 participation in the famous marathon...

Long before the debut of KAMAZ

The history of Russian motorsport at the Dakar does not begin at all with the 90s, when the debut of the legendary KAMAZ-Master team took place. First domestic car Went to the start of the very first marathon. It was all-wheel drive SUV from the USSR - "Niva" VAZ-2121 - rolled off the assembly line in April 1977. This happened, however, solely thanks to the French exporter Jean-Jacques Pock, who was simply crazy about the equipment from the factory in Togliatti. Twice he himself participated in the rally-raid on this car, but only as a navigator, and not at the Dakar, but at the Egyptian Rally of the Pharaohs in 1987 and 1988. The Niva was driven by no less than vice-champion of Formula 1 and winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Jacky Ickx.

"It was real SUV: cheap and reliable, whereas before there were only heavy military vehicles,” Pok recalls.

The debut of "Niva" took place just a year and a half after the release. On December 26, 1978, five cars brought from Russia entered the start at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. There were no differences from the standard model, with the exception of the obligatory roll cage and an additional tank, even the factory 1.6-liter engine remained. Nevertheless, two of the five cars made it safely to the finish line on January 14, 1979. Jean-Louis Letendou was 28th overall, while Christian Duboscu was 32nd. Given that at that time there were no divisions into categories at the Dakar, the result was really impressive, because such cars as Peugeot, Renault were behind, and 2/3 of the participants were ahead on motorcycles.

Modernized "Niva"

By the mid-80s, virtually nothing remained of the serial Niva except for the external outlines. The Poka team, called Lada Poch, and then two other teams VSD and Pastis modernized the suspension, the body was strengthened, expanded and lightened through the use of carbon fiber, and the VAZ engine was first finalized and then completely replaced. So, on the basis of the Soviet SUV, a real “Dakar” prototype was obtained.

It is especially interesting how the power of the power unit grew every year: 110, 150, 180, 240, 270 hp. Finally, in 1986, when the R.O.C turbocharged engine was installed on the Niva, the number Horse power over 300! On straight lines with such power, the car accelerated to 240 km / h.

Successes of "Niva" on racetracks

Several times Niva was close to success at the Paris-Dakar rally raid. Already in the third edition of the race in 1981, a Russian car driven by the Frenchman Jean-Claude Priavon was in the lead in the overall standings for most of the distance, but, unfortunately, a broken radiator at one of the last stages threw the crew into third place. A year later, the same Priavon finished second, losing only to compatriot Claude Maro in a Renault.

Andre Trossat brought another second place to Poka's team the following year. This podium was the last for Niva. As the reliability of the prototype, which has always been lame, was improved, it only got worse. In 1985, not one of the 18 starting Nivs reached the finish line at Pink Lake. Moreover, most came down due to problems with shock absorbers.

But on shorter and more difficult races, the upgraded car from Togliatti proved to be excellent. Rally Paris-Tunisia, Rally Algiers, Rally Pharaohs - all these exotic races were conquered by the Niva, and in Egypt in 1983 Pastis prototypes took all three first places on the podium. So there were no problems with speed and patency. Only reliability was not enough to conquer the main rally-raid of the planet ...

AvtoVAZ factory project implemented and frozen…

By the end of the 80s, the Niva era on the Dakar came to its logical conclusion. Though seriously modernized, but in ten years the VAZ-2121 model was outdated, and it was already impossible to compete with full-fledged prototypes. For the love of Jean-Jacques So far, this did not become an obstacle to cars from Tolyatti, and for the 1990 race, his Lada Poch prepared a prototype for participation ... "Lada Samara T3". Unlike the Niva, the French team could not even reach the podium with this car, and the sixth place at Dakar-1993 became the highest achievement, and the following year the French company left the competition, having sold the car to the VAZ factory team. However, the sunk team with the long name Lada-Vaz-Togliatti-Russia was enough for only one marathon in 1994, when both Samaras retired. Two other crews from Togliatti performed on the Lada Niva T3.

Unlike its predecessor, which had been launching the Dakar for ten years, this prototype was completely assembled at the AvtoVAZ plant and was significantly inferior in performance. If the last Lada modification Poch was equipped with a 310 hp engine. and accelerated to 240 km / h, then the domestic conqueror of rally raids could boast only 135 hp. and maximum speed within 160 km/h.

This prototype had local successes, such as victories in rally raids in Hungary in 1991 and 1994, but at major international competitions, the Lada Niva T3 lacked competitiveness, which was confirmed by the only trip to the Dakar in 1994 -m. Alexander Lakeev finished on the distant 41st, and the crew of Anatoly Krivobokov retired.

Things were a little better at the Paris-Moscow-Beijing rally - an analogue of the current Silk Road - where in 1995 the Niva, under the control of the same Lakeev, took tenth place. But soon the FIA ​​banned the category of T3 cars, and at this the VAZ program in international competitions ceased to exist.

In the mid-2000s, there were hopes for its revival, when Russian manufacturer announced the start of work on the Lada Raid car. The debut of the prototype was planned for Dakar-2008. As you know, the race did not take place, but even earlier, at the end of 2006, a promising project was “frozen” and remains in this state to this day ...

Niva cars have become famous in motorsport for a long time, repeatedly winning such prestigious rally raids as Paris-Dakar, Paris-Tunisia, Rally of the Pharaohs, Paris-Beijing and many others. As they say in the circle of athletes, this car either breaks down or arrives first!

It is about one of these cars that we will now discuss. Meet the rally version of the VAZ 2121, which has undergone a number of technical changes and won more than one prize. detailed history the construction of a sports prototype was shared by the owner of the Niva, Oleg Nikolaev.

Brief excursion

high and compact machine became an excellent donor for the construction of an off-road prototype. There is, of course, almost nothing left of the Niva. To be more specific, these are just some body elements and a frame windshield.


At this stage, this is the third version of the machine. And if you go into the details of all the changes, you can build whole line successive updates, like how new versions of some computer program. Therefore, in order to make it easier to explain, Oleg counts from the motors that are in the car.

The very first option is a 2-liter M50 engine from BMW, which was needed for a break-in car. “That is, we did not install it in order to drive well, but simply wanted to see how the assembled structure works, check the suspension, components, assemblies and transmission”, - explains Oleg.


Since the car was originally built for a jeep trial and a carousel race at the same time, a rather contradictory task was set: it was necessary not only to cope with steep hills and ravines in the trial sections, but also to show good speed results when moving over rough terrain. Therefore, this motor did not linger for a long time. “We checked the car, realized that everything works, took part in several competitions and came to the conclusion that the engine, of course, is wonderful, but we need bottoms and torque, and there is nothing close to that. After that, this unit was removed without any regret and replaced by a 2.8-liter M52TU engine, also from BMW, ”- says the owner of the car.

*Inline six-cylinder gasoline engines BMWs of the M50 family replaced the M20 engines in 1990. They were produced until 1995, after which they were replaced by the M52 engines. As for the M52 TU motors (where TU is technical update), then it is an upgraded engine with modified valve timing to a system with continuous control for both intake and exhaust valves (so-called "double VANOS").


With the new motor, some improvements were made, it underwent chip tuning, and the car was in this form for a long time. That is, she went to competitions, brought certain prizes, and so on. And then such off-road competitions as rally raids began to develop in Belarus. “By that time, I made a decision for myself not to participate in the jeep trial, as I managed to leave for about 4-5 seasons, and everything was already quite clear and familiar there. Yes, and I was always somehow more attracted to high-speed disciplines. So I decided to try to completely go into speed and forget about maneuvering. And this, of course, is a rally raid.”- adds Oleg Nikolaev.

And immediately the question arose that the car needed to be redone, that is, to remove what helped in the trial (short base and minimal overhangs), but interfered with speed and already fully prepared it for high-speed discipline.


There is such a Talmud of Appendix J, familiar to all racing drivers firsthand, in which all requirements are rather rigidly described. Moreover, in off-road races and rally raids, even permissible geometric dimensions vehicle, including the length and width of the wheelbase. And since Oleg had plans to travel to international competitions, the car, accordingly, had to be built according to all the canons of this application. “Having reached the limit of refinement and squeezing all the juice out of the old 2.8-liter TU engine, the only thing left to do was to put a turbine, which is not at all suitable for off-road racing, because the turbo produces torque at the top, and we need the bottom. And complicating the system and installing a bi-turbo engine, for example, is fraught with further technical problems(pistons will start to burn, etc.). Therefore, on reflection, we came to the conclusion that it is easier to replace the engine”,- explains the owner of the car.

Thus, in addition to the increased body geometry, version 3.0 also got a new M57 turbodiesel engine, which is usually installed on the BMW X5. The engine is interesting and promising, it is distinguished by its flexibility, and already in the state it gives good performance. In addition, this unit has a fairly rich field for creativity. “By adding old developments to the new engine, we got an almost new car. That is, from the previous version there were only some elements of the frame and the general concept, which is a combination technical solutions worked out in racing practice for 5-6 years", - the athlete clarifies.


In general, the car turned out to be almost a meter longer and 80 cm wider, that is, it acquired the maximum possible dimensions that are permissible in Appendix J. All this was done for stability and for more comfortable cornering. “Although I have the broadest steering experience on a short wheelbase and I didn’t experience any particular inconvenience from driving, but when I switched to a new version of the car, I really appreciated all the advantages of such a wheelbase, width and length. That is, you immediately understand that you are not driving on some kind of “stool”, which you need to constantly catch, but here the car behaves very obediently, everything is clear what it is doing now and what it will do in the next moment. There are no surprises. So it certainly makes sense to make a long and wide car. This has long been a well-known axiom, which I once again confirmed by my own example, ”- Oleg shares his impressions.

The aggregation of version 3.0 remained the same, that is, the motor was replaced, and the transmission itself, gearbox, gearbox and transfer case- all this is preserved from the previous version. And as the car became wider, the shafts, cardan shafts and drives were also lengthened.


However, here the first difficulties were encountered. At the very beginning, Oleg was very unlucky with the new engine of the third version. The situation turned out to be quite funny. The fact is that the M57 engine also has a 2.5-liter version, and visually they are just twins. And you can determine the working volume only by marking. “We went to the seller and bought suitable motor, having stipulated in advance that we need exactly the 3.0-liter version. After that, the engine was put in the car, assembled, they started turning the ignition key, but it would not start! We don't understand what's really going on. As a result, they found specialists who began to deal with this problem. We disassembled the engine, removed the top and found out that, according to the number, such nozzles were not installed on the 3.0 engine, and it’s not clear from the nozzles that they were removed, therefore, this is a 2.5-liter version, ”- colorfully describes the situation Oleg.

And in order to finally make sure of this, the engine had to be completely disassembled, move the box aside and look at the marking, and it is located on the side of the gearbox. And for sure, the engine was not a 3.0-liter, but a 2.5-liter. After that, Oleg called the seller back, explained the situation and the motor drove back.

Next, the second unit was put into the car, of course, having previously checked the markings. This time there were no problems. “I want to note that removing and installing the engine in a sports car is by no means an easy procedure and requires a significant investment of time and effort,”- adds Oleg.


With this engine, having passed the test races, the pilot Oleg Nikolaev and his co-driver Andrey Matskevich went to the first race of the season called Baja "Belarus-2015" (a joint stage of the Russian and Belarusian rally-raid championships), which was held in Polotsk.

Speaking of rally, the job of a navigator of such a car is also not easy. Indeed, his duties include not only reading the legend, but also a number of other actions, including turning on headlights and bulbs, wiper blades, signal buttons, and so on, since the pilot simply does not have time to follow this. So honed and synchronous operation pilot and navigator is also an important factor influencing the outcome of such competitions.

Returning to the topic, I note that the joy was short-lived, the motor lived for exactly 120 seconds (the time was determined by telemetry). The engine "caught a wedge" in the prologue. “We began to understand what was the matter. As a result, it turned out that one of the pistons simply melted into a lump. After that, after talking with experts, they came to the conclusion that, probably, even among the Germans, where the motor itself came from, the nozzle was overflowing and it simply burned through the piston. And we bought it already with such a defect and finally finished it off at the competitions. So to speak, they drove the last nail into the coffin lid,- explains the situation Oleg.


The unit went to the urn. And he was replaced by the third engine, which Oleg now drives. “The engine, despite the fact that it is diesel, is distinguished by its “gasoline” habits, which is why it interested me. That is, among the advantages of the "diesel" one can note the fact that the moment there starts quite low, and when the turbine also picks up all this, a very acceptable result is obtained. At the same time, it spins high, so this unit is really worthy of attention.”- assures the owner of the sports prototype.


Everything would be fine, only thanks to all these pluses, Oleg began to have problems with the transmission. That is, built under previous versions, she proved herself well in competitions, but she could not withstand the torque of this motor. “At first, we began to tear our CV joints, after which we switched to better and stronger ones, but it didn’t end there, after the CV joints, the same problem befell the gearboxes”, - Oleg clarifies.


Here the situation turned out to be much more serious, therefore, taking into account the nature and conditions of the ride, and consequently the higher loads, we had to look for a replacement for them. “Before that, there were gearboxes with hydraulic blocking from Mercedes W124, which, of course, was a very pleasant thing. But, unfortunately, this had to be abandoned and instead of them we put gearboxes from Mitsubishi Pajero III. And this, in turn, led to a change in the length of the axle shaft and the length of the universal joints. Again, a lot of work had to be done.”, - Oleg recalls.

After going through all these ordeals, the car acquired its own unique features. And if the first and second versions still really looked like the VAZ 2121, then after geometric changes the car got a different look.

New concept

The prototype is based on an individually calculated and made-to-order space frame, into which the security framework is integrated (according to the canons of Appendix J).


As for the suspension, it is fully independent, with two A-arms per wheel, which ensures a constant footprint with the road surface.

Front and rear gearboxes are from Mitsubishi Pajero III, drives and universal joints are completely individual (not serial), transfer case from Mercedes Gelandewagen, serial mechanical box gear from the old diesel BMW, which seduces with its relatively low cost (about $ 50), but at the same time is distinguished by reliability. This allows for cost-free, frequent replacements, which is undoubtedly important for motorsport. Quite a rare combination of price and quality. And secondly, the gearbox from BMW is well synchronized, literally switches in one jerk, that is, there is no delay between gear changes. “Here, of course, one could think about switching to cam box, but so far this is not necessary. If the node meets all your requirements, then why change something, ”- says Oleg.


The steering wheel in the car is also quite ordinary, bought a very long time ago. Oleg got used to it, it suits him in terms of girth and ergonomics, so change it to sports version not yet going. And the 3.0-liter diesel engine closes this whole chain.


Another important difference in the third version of the machine was plastic body(before that it was metal). Since the car became wider, longer and, accordingly, gained weight compared to version 2.0, I had to somehow deal with extra pounds. And then fiberglass came to the rescue, which, moreover, does not rust and is easier to repair. In the exterior, some elements resembling a body can be traced. old car. Plastic doors, for example, are stylized as Niva. Everything else was custom made.

shod car in mud tires Michelin 4X4 O/R XZL. This is a narrow and high rubber, which "nibbles" more. Previously, such tires were used in world races, including the Dakar. “Before that, I tried to ride on Goodrich MT wheels for off-road driving, but then I switched to tires of a narrower specialization (rally)”, - explains Oleg.

The racing set of rubber, in addition to the four wheels on the car, includes two more wheels that hang on the spare tire. Plus, two more spare tires are always in the technical park. That is, as a result, 8 wheels are obtained, but in the future Oleg is thinking of buying two more. The whole problem with tires is that they often make their way in races. And if there is no fallback, you can just lose. " For example, there was a case on a rally-raid in the Crimea, where the “combat” distance was 700 km. In the first 30 km, we hit 2 wheels on the stones. And I’m driving and I understand that I have another 670 km ahead of me, and of the whole wheels, I have only one left in the technical park. That was the number. Therefore, there are not many wheels. ”, - Oleg notes.


These are the transformations that the once-ordinary beige Niva of 1981 experienced. The previous owner probably would not have recognized her at all. According to the documents, this is still the same Niva, which was purchased in 2006. With the same numbers, and also has a saved element with a body number, which is located in the lower right corner of the windshield. So, in fact, this is the same car, only with deep technical changes. “Of course, there are documents for the car, but now it will not pass the technical inspection. So Niva goes to competitions exclusively on a gun carriage, ”- emphasizes the owner.

On the other hand, driving around the city in such a car is impractical, and simply inconvenient. After all, it's still sport car and he has other tasks. Plus, the cost of its run is completely different. Yes, and Michelin rally tires are not designed for asphalt.

As for financial expenses, at some point Oleg simply stopped counting how much money he spends on preparing and maintaining his car, as he realized that this was a useless exercise. Because the calculation does not allow you to optimize costs. In this case, you need to either go to amateur competitions, or think about how to spend less, but where to get money to go.


The third version has already been tested for strength in Lepel at the second stage of the Rally Raid Championship of the Republic of Belarus, where the prototype took first place in its class (Sport group, subgroup 1) and second place in the overall standings. Although there were no breakages either. Niva's clutch broke 200 meters before the finish of the 5th lap, which, as a result, affected the speed of the 6th lap.

As Oleg said, Sport Car like a diamond, the edges of which can be polished and polished for an infinitely long time. And to achieve perfection here is simply impossible ...

Tatyana Avsyanovich

In contact with

20.06.2016, 23:05 18774 0 Suprotec Racing

This post is dedicated by the Suprotec Racing team to the blessed memory of Svetlana Maisuradze

(aka Zhuzha Maiskaya - Cockchafer) 07/12/1975 - 07/07/2013

NIVA in rally raids

In general, for Russian motorsport, NIVA is not just a cult car, but a legendary one.

NIVA at the Paris-Dakar marathon

NIVA has been participating in large rally raids since 1979. And the highest achievement was the 2nd place at the Paris-Dakar marathon in 1982 by the crew of Jean-Claude Priavon and Andre Deliard.

Racers

It is interesting that NIVA cars were driven by: Pierre Lartigue, a 3-time winner of the Paris-Dakar marathon. Jean-Louis Schlesser - Desert Fox, Formula 1 participant and multiple winner of everything and organizer of the Africa Race alternative to Dakar. Jacky Ickx is a Formula 1 vice-champion, a six-time Le Mans winner and a 1983 Dakar winner.

CanAmTrophy participants will be interested to know that the CanAm series was originally held in 1979 on circuit tracks.
It featured Keke Rosberg (father of Formula One driver Nico Rosberg) in a Newman-Freeman Racing Spyder NF-11, co-owned by renowned actor and race car driver Paul Newman, and Jackie Ickx in a Lola T333CS.

And the navigator of the combat LADA NIVA T3 was Sergey Talantsev, who made the route of the race “Great Steppe - Don. 2016". The most experienced navigator in Soviet and Russian rally-raids.

How is it built?

The history of the preparation of rally-raid "NIV" is also in many ways indicative. And our NIVA project T1 Superproduction is already moving very quickly on the right path, worked out many years ago.

The first Dakar Niva differed little from the serial one - the same 1.6-liter engine located in front, a safety cage, additional tanks and containers for drinking water ... that's, in principle, that's all!

On December 26, 1978, 80 car crews, 90 motorcyclists and 12 truck crews, including two Niva Protos, started from Trocadero Square in Paris! However, in that first race, Niva, it seemed, did not achieve much success - 28th and 42nd place. But it only seemed! Indeed, in that first Paris-Dakar race, only about a third of the participants reached the finish line, including both Niva! In addition, in that first race, there was no division into categories yet - all the results were in one heap! For the next season, 1980, the engine underwent a significant modernization, which made it possible to pull out 110 hp from it. The result was not long in coming - the crew of Andre Tros - Jacqui Turon has already taken 19th place!

In the 1981 season, Niva came out with a new engine - a 140-horsepower 1.8-liter Starkit specially prepared for the Dakar, assembled on the basis of a serial block, and a new name - Lada Poch 1800. The team of Jean-Claude Brivouin - Andre Delier, those who won the first stage, and were in the lead almost the entire race, almost fell out of the race at the end - they pierced the radiator, but, in the end, they took third place! André Trosa also moved up a few positions - he is already 11th. At other rally-raids (Paris-Tunisia and the Algerian rally), Jean-Claude Brivouin already confidently took first places! However, that small incident with a broken radiator showed the failure of the serial design for such competitions. A new era has begun...

The 1982 race turned out to be a turning point in the history of the Dakar - for the first time, cars specially prepared for rally raids began to participate in the competition, only outwardly, and then remotely, reminiscent of serial counterparts.
But already in the new season - the 1982 season, Claude and Bernard Marre took a successful revenge, taking first place. The rest of the top lines of the tournament table were crowned by the Mercedes-Benz 280 GE, however, with a small but very important exception - Jean-Claude Brivouin and Andre Delier took 2nd place by almost serial Lada Poch 1800! In other competitions, André Trosa has already tested the new 147-horsepower prototype. Lada Niva Poch with an engine capacity increased to 2 liters. The results were impressive: Atlas rally - 5th place, Pharaohs rally - 1st place!

In the same 1982, So far had a historical acquaintance with Marcel Moral, the owner of the Maurelec enterprise, who proposed to make friends with Soviet technology with French, and, more precisely, to install a V-shaped "six" PRV with a volume of 2.5 liters on the Niva, and an outstanding already all 180 hp, and not on regular place, as before, but in the base - behind the front seats! However, largely due to the rush in which the Niva SMM prototype was being prepared, the car turned out to be “raw”, and Jean-Claude Brivouin barely made it to the finish line at the Algiers Rally, taking only third place. Although, there was nothing to be especially upset about - Andre Trosa on Lada Poch 1800 took first place.

In 1983, another prototype appeared - Niva Pastis, with a turbocharged ROC engine, which already produced at a volume of 2440 cm3. 290 horsepower! For the first time in the history of Soviet, so to speak, motorsport at international competitions of such a level as the Pharaohs rally, all three Niva started, took the entire podium first, second and third! And on "Dakar" - again the third place!

By the mid-1980s, plastics were already in full use in the "combat" automotive industry. Recall, at least, the 1987 Lada EVA Statis Brundza, or the B rally group cars (Lancia Stratos, Audi Quattro S4) - the most spectacular car competition of those years. The spirit of the times has not bypassed either the Dakar, one of the most high-tech races, or, even more so, Jean-Jacques Poka. And in 1986, a new sports prototype appeared on the basis of the Soviet Niva, this time Lada Poch with a 310 hp ROC engine. It was distinguished by carbon doors, a hood and a trunk lid, which made it possible to reduce the weight of the car and take Pierre Lartigue first places in the Tunisian rally and the Languedoc-Roussillon raid, and fourth in the Dakar.

In general, Jean-Jacques Pok was a frostbitten tuner. For the Italian autocross championship, he built a Niva with a Ferrari engine! In it, each wheel was driven by a separate chain.

AvtoVAZ in 1990 began its own rally-raid program. For what the domestic prototype LADA NIVA T3 was prepared. Which was supposed to go to the super marathon Paris - Moscow - Beijing in 1991. But due to known reasons, the race did not take place.

The body of the car, as a whole, remained unchanged, except for the reinforcements in the places where the engine, transmission and suspension are attached. Of course, according to the FIA ​​safety requirements, the car is equipped with a tubular frame and a rubber tank with a porous filler. The engine is assembled on the basis of a standard block 21213, with a volume of 1860 cm3, developing a power of 135 hp. at 5600 rpm.

Suspension - practically unchanged - independent at the front, dependent at the rear, only the beams are reinforced, and instead of one shock absorber for each wheel, a pair is used. Complete the picture disc brakes 304mm in diameter, both front and rear. Max speed LADA NIVA T3 is not too impressive today - 170 km/h, but for Soviet jeep in 1991, when the "eight" was hardly gaining 160 - a very good indicator.


The sports prototype received its baptism of fire in Hungary at the "Magyar MAVAD Raid-4" rally-raid, and the result was quite good - 1st, 3rd and 4th places! Then, in preparation for the same "Paris-Moscow-Beijing", NIVA T3 tests took place in the Karakum desert.
The super marathon "Paris-Moscow-Beijing", nevertheless, took place the next year, 1992, and Alexander Nikonenko and Sergey Talantsev already had 14th place in the Atlas rally. It seemed to predetermine the fate of the crew - Nikonenko took the same 14th place at the Paris-Moscow-Beijing rally. In 1995, already Alexander Lakeev and Anatoly Krivobokov were able to improve this result by taking 10th and 11th places in the Paris-Moscow-Beijing marathon. And a year before, the same pilots in Baja Hungary finished double, taking 1st and 2nd place. In the same year, 1994, LADA NIVA T3, fully assembled in Tolyatti, nevertheless left a mark of its tires in Dakar, taking 36th place in the Paris-Dakar-Paris rally.

From amateurs to professionals

In parallel with professional motorsport, the Nivovodsk movement was actively developing in the country. More than 16 years ago, the young and developing auto.ru resource hosted the NIVA, Avtosport, R3K and other conferences. Auto.ru Grand Prix, jeep sprints, off-road orienteering, third category rallies, club rallies held according to R1K rules were held.

Everywhere NIVA cars took part in different configurations and different degrees of preparation. At the same time, the NIVA CLUB Sport team appeared, which performed under the banners of various sponsors.

In 2003, the crew of Konstantin Kuptsov aka KUK and Ekaterina Nikolaeva aka Katya-on-Mercedes won the Russian Rally Raid Cup in the national class and won third place in the Russian Rally Raid Championship.

Many nivovods are still related to motorsport:

Roman Ivanov aka GlaZZ has been professionally conducting technical inspections for a long time, judging and organizing various competitions, participating in competitions on his enduro.

Aleksey Ivanov aka Alvi is the head of the instruments that are issued to crews on rally raids. He himself participates in marathons as a navigator.

Kirill Shubin aka River is a famous navigator, participant of the Russian Championship and the World Cup.

The navigator of the GAZ-Reid Sport crew, Elena Pravdina aka Black Kisa, also actively participated and continues to participate in competitions at various levels. By the way, she owns the famous phrase: I OFF your Road

Pavel Miloserdov aka PashaM, the co-driver of the Suprotec Racing crew, started his career in motorsport in the steering wheel of a NIVA car.

And here it is necessary to say a few words about ...

Nivovodskaya subculture

It developed within the framework of the NIVA conference at www.auto.ru and found its continuation in the www.nivaclub.ru/ project. There was a conference, a database of participants, mutual assistance on the roads, a photo archive and even Nivovodsk creativity. And this project was called "Krasnaya NIVA Kolkhoz".

Several quotes have gone down in history:
All nivovods are children and idiots © AntonTs
Users and maniacs are treated only with injections in the head © AntonTs
All nivovods are divided into summer residents, sausages, teapots, athletes, spatsmen, maniacs ...

Collective farm veterinarian Evseev diagnosed the Device 14 years ago with the following diagnosis: User of moderate severity.

Nothing has changed since then...

It is perhaps difficult to find another Soviet sports car, about which there would be so many legends, so famous, but at the same time, the information that is in open sources is so different from one article to another, and so unlike the truth (take at least the words of one of the Italian authors, who claims that Jacky X’s Niva had a turbocharged six-cylinder VAZ engine with a volume of 2.5 liters), which definitely says something about this legendary car very, very difficult. And what's more - in the domestic press, to be more precise - in the "Behind the Wheel" magazines of the 1980s, the raid Niva was mentioned only in the "Sports Reviewer" heading, indicating the rating in the race and the pilot ... there are no descriptions of cars! Most likely, because from the Lada Niva itself, these devices had only a body - and even then not all! Soviet censorship did not allow openly admitting that the VAZ engine with an index of 2121 is not viable under such conditions, and the French are equipping raid cars with engines produced in capitalist countries, what can you do? No, the process of writing each article from the Motorsport Legends series was more like an archaeological excavation, or rather, the work of a scout who extracts data from various sources, sometimes translating documents into English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Ukrainian or Estonian. But the search for a trace of the Dakar Niva was probably more like the search for Atlantis.

Jan-Jaque Poch

In 1977, the first own development of Togliatti Automobile Factory- all-wheel drive VAZ 2121, which received the proud name "Niva". In general, the development, indeed, was in many ways remarkable and unique. Suffice it to recall that in the late 1970s, the Niva was perhaps the only SUV in the world with a monocoque body! Others, for the most part, differed in a supporting or semi-supporting frame. In addition, the cost of Lada Niva (the export name of the car) was an order of magnitude lower than its competitors - the same Mitsubishi Pagero, Toyota Land Cruiser, Nissan Patrol, Opel Frontera and others like them, which made it possible to compete with manufacturers on both sides of the Atlantic and other, very tiny islands in the Pacific Ocean. Between the lines, you can see that even today the twenty-year-old Niva, not only in Egypt or Germany, but also in Canada and the USA, is by no means the most rare car.

In France, the official (and only) exporter of the Lad was Jean-Jacques Pok, who, oddly enough, was simply in love with Togliatti cars! It is not surprising that the French also liked the Niva. ". Much later, he told in an interview: "It was the first real SUV, also inexpensive and hardy. Before him, there were only too heavy military vehicles." And he not only sold VAZ SUVs - by order plastic elements exterior - no! Apparently, according to the Canadian example, convertibles based on the Niva were produced, and the low-power power unit 2121 was changed to the Renault 21 Turbo Diesel engine (the modification with such an engine was called the Niva Turbo), and even to the V-shaped "six" PRV - a joint developed by Peugeot, Renault and Volvo. By the way, the Maurelec company, a little later, prepared one of the Dakar sports prototypes. But it was a little later, but for now it was 1980 in the yard ...

First in first!

In itself, the appearance of the first Dakarovskoye Niva is just a happy coincidence. Jean-Jacques Poch had long dreamed of entering one of the Zhiguli models in international competitions, but to participate in the B rally group, a homologation series of 200 cars was needed ... Poch would not have survived such a batch of prototypes economically! Le Mann? This thought was ridiculous even to the Frenchman himself. Suddenly... in 1978, the first rally-raid "Paris-Dakar" ("Paris-Algiers-Dakar", to be more precise) starts. And a year before this significant event, Lada Niva just appeared! That is, Pok received his first car almost simultaneously with the news of the start of the Dakar next year!

Work on the project, called "Niva Proto", began to boil almost immediately. It is clear that the team did not yet have the proper experience, but there was a great desire, at least - to participate in competitions, and there - what the hell is not joking, maybe win! The first Dakar Niva differed little from the serial one - the same 1.6-liter engine located in front, a safety cage, additional tanks and containers for drinking water ... that's, in principle, that's all!

On December 26, 1978, 80 car crews, 90 motorcyclists and 12 truck crews, including two Niva Protos, started from Trocadero Square in Paris! However, in that first race, Niva, it seemed, did not achieve much success - 28th and 42nd place. But it only seemed! Indeed, in that first Paris-Dakar race, only about a third of the participants reached the finish line, including both Niva! In addition, in that first race, there was no division into categories yet - all the results were in one heap! For the next season, 1980, the engine underwent a significant modernization, which made it possible to pull out 110 hp from it. The result was not long in coming - the crew of Andre Tros - Jacqui Turon has already taken 19th place!

In the 1981 season, Niva came out with a new engine - a 140-horsepower 1.8-liter Starkit specially prepared for the Dakar, assembled on the basis of a serial block, and a new name - Lada Poch 1800. The team of Jean-Claude Brivouin - Andre Delier, those who won the first stage, and were in the lead almost the entire race, almost fell out of the race at the end - they pierced the radiator, but, in the end, they took third place! André Trosa also moved up a few positions - he is already 11th. At other rally-raids (Paris-Tunisia and the Algerian rally), Jean-Claude Brivouin already confidently took first places! However, that small incident with a broken radiator showed the failure of the serial design for such competitions. A new era has begun...

Prototype Era

Not only Jean-Jacques Pok understood that it was time to move away from the stock design. The 1982 race turned out to be a turning point in the history of the Dakar - for the first time, cars specially prepared for rally raids began to participate in the competition, only outwardly, and then remotely, reminiscent of serial counterparts. In particular, the Marre brothers took to the track in the previous season on a prototype based on the Renault 20 - Renault 4x4 Turbo with all-wheel drive and a two-liter V6 turbo engine. However, the first pancake turned out to be lumpy - the prototype could not stand the tests of the desert and the race ended in a descent.

But already in the new season - the 1982 season, Claude and Bernard Marre took a successful revenge, taking first place. The rest of the top lines of the standings were crowned by the Mercedes-Benz 280 GE, however, with a small but very important exception - Jean-Claude Brivouin and Andre Delier took 2nd place in an almost serial Lada Poch 1800! In other competitions, Andre Trosa has already tested a new 147-horsepower Lada Niva Poch prototype with an engine capacity increased to 2 liters. The results were impressive: Atlas rally - 5th place, Pharaohs rally - 1st place!

In the same 1982, So far had a historical acquaintance with Marcel Moral, the owner of the Maurelec enterprise, who proposed to make friends with Soviet technology with French, and, more precisely, to install a V-shaped "six" PRV with a volume of 2.5 liters on the Niva, and an outstanding already all 180 hp, and not in a regular place, as before, but in the base - behind the front seats! However, largely due to the rush in which the Niva SMM prototype was being prepared, the car turned out to be “raw”, and Jean-Claude Brivouin barely made it to the finish line at the Algiers Rally, taking only third place. Although, there was nothing to be especially upset about - Andre Trosa on Lada Poch 1800 took first place.

In 1983, another prototype appeared - Niva Pastis, with a turbocharged ROC engine, which already produced at a volume of 2440 cm3. 290 horsepower! For the first time in the history of Soviet, so to speak, motorsport at international competitions of such a level as the Pharaohs rally, all three Niva started, took the entire podium first, second and third! And on "Dakar" - again the third place!

Space technologies

By the mid-1980s, plastics were already in full use in the "combat" automotive industry. Recall, at least, the 1987 Lada EVA Statis Brundza, or the B rally group cars (Lancia Stratos, Audi Quattro S4) - the most spectacular car competition of those years. The spirit of the times has not bypassed either the Dakar, one of the most high-tech races, or, even more so, Jean-Jacques Poka. And in 1986, a new sports prototype appeared on the basis of the Soviet Niva, this time Lada Poch with a 310 hp ROC engine. It was distinguished by carbon doors, a hood and a trunk lid, which made it possible to reduce the weight of the car and take Pierre Lartigue first places in the Tunisian rally and the Languedoc-Roussillon raid, and fourth in the Dakar.

A year later, the entire body of the car, assembled on a tubular frame, was carbon fiber, but the team led by the legend of formula 1, the winner of the 1983 Dakar in the Mercedes team Jackie Ickx, took only 38th place in the Paris-Algiers-Dakar race . In less important competitions - Rally Pharaohs Lada Poch continued to stay in the top three, but the result - third place - was very far from the brilliant victory of five years ago. The era of the Niva, which has been on the assembly line for more than ten years, was coming to an end - the palm now belonged to sports prototypes built from scratch, which were related to production cars only by the manufacturer's nameplates on the radiator grille. However, Jean-Jacques Pok was not very discouraged about this - a new car was already being produced at the VAZ, which the Frenchman did not like smaller than Niva - Lada Samara.

In total, as far as is known, Pock produced eight sports prototypes, of which two have survived to this day. However, both are on "Lada France", and Jean-Jacques Pok flatly refuses to sell them. There are also persistent rumors that the last car currently belongs to the last Lada Poch driver... but the last one, as far as we know, was Jacky X! However, these are just rumors.

Not "Dakar" alone

Speaking about the Dakar Niva, it would be a terrible injustice not to mention the Niva, created to participate in other rally raids. After all, not one Pok was an avid tuner! So, for example, in the late 1980s, the first place in the Italian Speed ​​Off-Road (Italian autocross championship) was won by a Niva with a 300 hp V-shaped eight-cylinder engine manufactured by Ferrari! Of particular interest is the transmission of the car - here each wheel is driven by a separate chain.

By the way, even today in Baja Spain one of the most popular cars- El Lada Niva 4x4, and in the 2003-2005 competition the Niva of the Velillo Garcia team, with a 2 liter engine developing up to 180 hp. shows itself very well, primarily due to its reliability and unpretentiousness.

Niva at home

And here is the most interesting. Historically, it so happened that sports prototypes for serious international competitions for the Soviet Union were prepared abroad. And in fact - Moskvich 2140SL Rally 2000 in 1976 was prepared by the British from Piper, and both generations of Dakar VAZs - Lada Niva T3 and Lada Samara T3 - were French. Of the completely domestic developments, only the Dakarovsky KamAZ-Master and the Dakarovsky Lada Raid, shown at the VII Moscow international motor show, which, it seems, is still under development.

But no! Back in 1990, AvtoVAZ launched its own off-road program, for which they formed their own team to participate in rally raids. Within the framework of the same program, the development of the domestic sports prototype LADA NIVA T3 began, which was planned to be exhibited at the 1991 Paris-Moscow-Beijing super marathon. And in fact - a mess! Races pass through Moscow - the capital, then still, the USSR, but at the same time, decent car to "flex muscles" in the country was not!

The marathon, due to the August coup of 1991, was never held, but, on the other hand, an SUV appeared on the VAZ, capable of accelerating to hundreds in 12 seconds! The body of the car, as a whole, remained unchanged, except for the reinforcements in the places where the engine, transmission and suspension are attached. Of course, according to the FIA ​​safety requirements, the car is equipped with a tubular frame and a rubber tank with a porous filler. The engine is assembled on the basis of a standard block 21213, with a volume of 1860 cm3, developing a power of 135 hp. at 5600 rpm. Suspension - practically unchanged - independent at the front, dependent at the rear, only the beams are reinforced, and instead of one shock absorber for each wheel, a pair is used. Rounding out the picture are 304mm disc brakes, both front and rear. The maximum speed of LADA NIVA T3 today is not very impressive - 170 km / h, but for a Soviet jeep in 1991, when the "eight" was barely gaining 160 - a very good indicator.

The sports prototype received its baptism of fire in Hungary at the "Magyar MAVAD Raid-4" rally-raid, and the result was quite good - 1st, 3rd and 4th places! Then, in preparation for the same "Paris-Moscow-Beijing", NIVA T3 tests took place in the Karakum desert.

The super marathon "Paris-Moscow-Beijing", nevertheless, took place the next year, 1992, and Alexander Nikonenko and Sergey Talantsev already had 14th place in the Atlas rally. It seemed to predetermine the fate of the crew - Nikonenko took the same 14th place at the Paris-Moscow-Beijing rally. In 1995, already Alexander Lakeev and Anatoly Krivobokov were able to improve this result by taking 10th and 11th places in the Paris-Moscow-Beijing marathon. And a year before, the same pilots in Baja Hungary finished double, taking 1st and 2nd place. In the same year, 1994, LADA NIVA T3, fully assembled in Tolyatti, nevertheless left a mark of its tires in Dakar, taking 36th place in the Paris-Dakar-Paris rally.

Such is the history of the Dakarovskie Niv. If there weren’t these super-charged monsters, built at one time under the leadership of Jean-Jacques Poka, most likely, this car would not have been known on all six continents. Yes, yes, exactly six - after all, the Niva is the only car that has been to Antarctica! It is sad that today AvtoVAZ's marathon program is in such a deplorable state, and Lada Raid will most likely remain a full-size model.


Kostin Konstantin Alexandrovich
zhurnal.lib.ru

There are many interesting and glorious pages in the history of the VAZ-2121. For example, did you know that already at the end of the seventies, the Soviet all-wheel drive made its debut in the famous Paris-Dakar rally? No less surprising is the fact that Niva owes its success "in the big African adventure" to ... the French importer Lada Poch.

The owner of the company, Jacques Pock, represented Czechoslovak Skoda cars on the French market, as well as Soviet Muscovites and the Lada brand (since 1972). At the same time, he was a big fan of car racing and took part in them in the early fifties.

Pictured: Jacques Pock (left) at the start of the 1952 Le Mans

Obviously, the enterprising Frenchman shared the well-known saying “Win ​​on Sunday - sell on Monday”, since sports success not only contributed to the sales of cars of any brand, but could also “raise” the image of not the most prestigious cars produced in the countries of the socialist camp. After all, to be honest, many Europeans preferred Soviet technology only because of its availability. However, participation (not to mention victory!) in some prestigious and well-known competition could stir up interest in Lada and Muscovites - which, in fact, happened to the “four hundred and twelfths” while participating in London-Sindey and London -Mexico City. No wonder that Monsieur Pok, who represented the French market soviet cars Since 1965, a Muscovite has been able to extract considerable commercial benefits from the excellent result of the Autoexport team in long and difficult marathons.

When Niva appeared, many Western consumers looked at the Soviet brand Lada in a new way. Indeed, according to the set of consumer qualities, the VAZ-2121 with permanent all-wheel drive, "lowers" and blocking center differential not only ahead of his time, but also had no equal - at least in his price category. Staying almost car in terms of comfort, the Soviet car was comparable in terms of capabilities and potential to the good “rogues” of those years. At the same time, due to the short base, small curb weight and successful weight distribution, even with a relatively weak "six" engine, the Niva showed great results when storming off-road.

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Thanks to constant all-wheel drive and durable chassis Niva immediately gained fame as a real conqueror of off-road

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Thanks to permanent all-wheel drive and a durable chassis, Niva immediately gained fame as a real off-road conqueror.

It is not surprising that Jacques Pock, along with other Western European importers, immediately arranged the supply of Niva to France. And almost simultaneously with the European debut of the VAZ-2121 in 1978, the French motorcycle racer Thierry Sabin decided to hold a daring and unexpected competition - a rally that would start in Paris and finish in the capital of Senegal, the African city of Dakar. Thus, participants could test themselves and cars in the sands of Africa, famous for their cunning.

Thierry Sabin in front of the Niva shortly before his death (1986)

Motorized adventurers all over the world clearly liked the idea, because no less than 170 cars and motorcycles were announced at the start of the first Paris-Dakar rally! Moreover, five crews started on ... that's right, the Soviet VAZ-2121.

The most surprising thing is that all of them did not represent either the Soviet team or the French importer! That is, these participants simply purchased Niva privately, choosing the latest and almost unknown Soviet all-wheel drive as available car, where you can (and should) take part in a new rally-raid.

For this reason, the cars did not differ much from the usual serial Niva: a welded-in roll cage, a larger gas tank, additional protection bottoms and reinforced suspension. At the same time, the same standard 80-horsepower Zhiguli engine remained under the hood.

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Serial VAZ-2121. The first "Dakar" was attended by Niva, which differed little from standard machine

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Serial VAZ-2121. The first "Dakar" was attended by Niva, which differed little from the standard car

In this specification, along with the rest of the crews, the Nivas had to drive ten thousand (!) Kilometers, which consisted of special stages laid across the desert, unpaved "roads" and rough terrain. In fact, mass-produced Soviet-made cars with a minimum of modifications had to pass in the same place and in the same way as seriously prepared "combat" vehicles.

In the first rally, everyone was riding on anything - for example, on a "semi-military" all-terrain vehicle Volkswagen Iltis

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The blue and red Niva performed better than the others - at least they got to Dakar

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The blue and red Niva performed better than the others - at least they got to Dakar

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The blue and red Niva performed better than the others - at least they got to Dakar

Of course, not all Niva arrived at the finish line - two out of five crews managed to get to the capital of Senegal, and one of them took 28th place in the overall standings, and the second - 42nd. However, in reality, the result was much higher, because the regulations of the first Paris-Algiers-Dakar rally did not provide for the division of participants into classes, so the final places were “shared by everyone”, including motorcycles and trucks.

At the same time, the conditions of the first race, to put it mildly, left much to be desired - the rally turned out to be not only difficult, but also could not boast of a high level of organization. Many crews experienced difficulties with ... water and food! What can we say about the technical support of cars, which had to act simultaneously as combat crews, and as a kind of "technical", having loaded everything necessary on board along the way, including provisions and spare parts.

As you can see, the Niva were loaded, as they say, to the eyeballs

Apparently, the test turned out to be too severe for the crew with start number 132, who took 28th place in the absolute: immediately after the finish, Pierre Minonzio and Jean-Louis Le Dento sold their Niva right in Senegal.

Both Niva at the finish line of the first Dakar

And the second Niva No. 107, finishing 42nd, returned home with the help of Jacques Pok, who paid for this “return transfer” in exchange for information from Christian Dubosque about how the Niva performed throughout the run.

In the photo: Crew Niva Christian Dubosque/Pierre-Emmanuel Frussa

Relatively successful debut of amateur athletes on Soviet cars in Dakar-79 prompted Poka the idea that it was necessary to put up his own crew for the next competition. Of course, the preparation of the car under the starting number No. 128 and the conditional name Niva Proto was carried out at a much higher level - in particular, the engine power was raised to 110 “horses” by various tricks, and professional racer Jean-Claude Briavuan was behind the wheel. In total, eight crews on Russian off-road vehicles took part in the second Dakar.

The results of the Pokovskaya Niva at the first stages of the Dakar-80 were very encouraging - the athletes showed best time, but… already in Algeria, they were forced to leave the track due to a breakdown. But the "private trader" Andre Tross was able to finish nineteenth.

Indeed, in comparison with other participants, it is quite affordable soviet all-terrain vehicle didn't look like a whipping boy thanks to all-wheel drive transmission and strong running gear. In addition, the Niva was quite light, thanks to which many difficult sections could overcome "move".

In 1981, Pok again put Niva on the race, increasing the engine size to 1.8 liters. This made it possible to squeeze an impressive 140 hp out of the Zhiguli engine. - that is, it has become almost twice as powerful as the standard one!



In the eighties, the magazine "Behind the Rulem", although sparingly, nevertheless reported on the rally successes of the Niva. And in 1981, an interview with Jean-Claude Briavuan was even published on its pages!

Alas, this time the athletes were let down not by technology, but by the lack of sufficient experience in desert navigation. Not quite accurately interpreting the "legend", Briavuan lost a lot of time, and once stood in the middle of the stage with a "dry" tank. The final result was also affected by repeated punctures of the wheels, the replacement of which also led to the loss of precious time.

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Niva has become a familiar "element" of the Paris-Dakar rally

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Niva has become a familiar "element" of the Paris-Dakar rally

However, the French rider was able to catch up with the leading Rene Metge by range rover, but ... because of the leaky radiator of the Niva with the 157th starting number, instead of winning the Lada Poch S.A. managed to take only third place in the absolute. In any case, it was a success and an obvious achievement for both the French racers and the Soviet car.

It is not surprising that in 1982 two crews of the Poka team took part in the Dakar, and in total a record number of VAZ-2121s took part in this race - two dozen cars!

This time, the Marre brothers were able to win the Dakar. The components of their success are the 170-horsepower Renault 20 Turbo 4 × 4 and rich experience in African raids.

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In the photo: Renault 20 Turbo 4×4 Paris-Dakar

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In the photo: Renault 20 Turbo 4×4 Paris-Dakar

Well, the crew of the Poka team (Jean-Claude Briavouin/André Deliar) was satisfied with the second place in the overall standings - frankly speaking, a good result.

Lada Niva at the Paris-Dakar rally (1983)

By the 1983 season, Jacques and Jean-Jacques Pokey realized that the Soviet engine had exhausted itself and decided on a "heart transplant" - installing a 2.4-liter Simca engine. Initially, this engine was turbocharged (!), But for greater reliability, they decided to abandon this method of increasing power, because the Niva had to go not only quickly, but also for a long time.

The conversion was carried out by Maurelec, owned by Marcel Morel, who in 1981 himself took part in the Dakar on the Niva with a French engine.

As a result, the VAZ-2121 racing engine located in the base developed about 200 hp. But even this was not enough for Pokam: the French decided to lighten the car by installing fiberglass doors, a hood and a trunk lid. In addition, the car received more powerful brakes and modernized electrical equipment. Thus, the Niva exhibited at Dakar-83 differed markedly from the serial “source code” in terms of technology, and the rather free technical regulations allowed for such metamorphoses.

Three crews of the Lada Poch team took part in the race at once, which, in addition, received constant technical support from their own team throughout the race.

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Soka's team has repeatedly won other rallies - for example, "Paris-Tunisia-81". But the Dakar Niva did not submit ...

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Soka's team has repeatedly won other rallies - for example, "Paris-Tunisia-81". But the Dakar Niva did not submit ...

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