GAZ-13

The GAZ-13 Chaika[1] is an automobile manufactured by the Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (GAZ, Gorky Automobile Plant) from 1959 to 1981 as a generation of its Chaika marque.

GAZ-13 Chaika
Overview
ManufacturerGAZ
Production1959–1981 (first prototype made in 1955 or 1956)
Body and chassis
ClassFull-size luxury car
LayoutFR layout
Powertrain
Engine5.5L M-13 V8
Transmission3-speed automatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase3,250 mm (128.0 in)
Length5,600 mm (220.5 in)
Width2,000 mm (78.7 in)
Height1,580 mm (62.2 in)
Curb weight2,050 kg (4,519 lb)
Chronology
PredecessorGAZ-12 ZIM
SuccessorGAZ-14

History

The GAZ-13 Chaika debuted in 1958.[2] It was produced from 1959 to 1981, with 3,179 built in all.[3] The GAZ-13 was powered by a 195-hp SAE gross 5.5 L V8 and driven through a push-button automatic transmission of a similar design to the Chrysler PowerFlite unit. It was offered as a saloon (GAZ-13), limousine (GAZ-13A), and four-door cabriolet (GAZ-13B) with an electrohydraulic top.[4] The cabriolet was made in 1961 and 1962 for official parades.[5]

RAF in Riga produced the GAZ-13A Universal, an estate, in the 1960s in Riga; this was also built as the GAZ-13S ambulance, as well as a hearse.[6] Produced for a few years in the 1960s, it is the lowest-volume Chaika variant. Small numbers were also built for Mosfilm.[7] As a limousine-class car, Chaikas were available only to the Soviet government, and could not be purchased by average citizens. However, citizens were allowed to rent Chaikas for weddings. Chaikas were used by Soviet ambassadors and Communist Party First Secretaries in East Germany, North Korea, Bulgaria, Hungary, Mongolia, and Finland, among others; Fidel Castro was given one by General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev, who himself preferred the Chaika to his ZIL,[8] and kept one at his summer dacha. He also presented one limousine version each to both King Sisavang Vatthana of Laos and Prime Minister, Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia on their visits to the Soviet Union.[9] For their larger size and more powerful V8, Chaikas were also ordered in some quantity by the KGB. Top speed was 99 mph (159 km/h).

Most Chaikas were saloons. The GAZ-13B was built for only two years 1961 and 1962. The GAZ-13 was discontinued in 1981.[10] The GAZ-14 debuted in 1977,[11] and ran to the end of Chaika production in 1988. Enthusiasts often point to the 1955-56 U.S. Packards as the inspiration for the early Chaika's styling.

EnginePowerTransmissionwheelbaselengthsuspension
8-cylinder220 hp SAE gross[12]3-speed135.8 in (3,449 mm)240 in (6,096 mm)[13]Front: independent with coil springs
  • Front view
  • Rear view. Notice the tailpipe integrated in the rear bumper as well as the late-1950s American-style tailfins.
  • Sedan version
  • Cabriolet
  • GAZ logo
  • GAZ-13 interior

References
  1. Автомобиль Чайка. Руководство по эксплуатации. Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod. 16. edition, Gorki 1975.
  2. Thompson, Andy. Cars of the Soviet Union (Haynes Publishing, Somerset, UK, 2008), p.69.
  3. Thompson, p.70.
  4. Thompson, p.70.
  5. Thompson, p.70.
  6. Thompson, p.70.
  7. Thompson, p.70.
  8. Thompson, p.70.
  9. "Red Aircraft, Troops Hit Laos". The Bryan Times. January 15, 1968.
  10. Thompson, p.70.
  11. Thompson, p.70.
  12. World Cars 1978. Herald Books. ISBN 0-910714-10-X.
  13. World Cars 1978. Herald Books. ISBN 0-910714-10-X.
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