Lada Samara – A Soviet Porsche (VAZ-2108/09/099)

Today, I’m going to tell a story about the best-handling and the most advanced Soviet car – the Lada Samara produced from 1984 to 2013.
Many people think that this car was developed by Porsche, and it’s partly true. But the whole story is much more interesting and complicated.
The history of creation of the Samara line was very unusual for Soviet cars, and the Samara was an extremely innovative car for the Soviet market.
The development of the Samara and preparing it for production were very difficult tasks because it happened in an environment of total lack of modern automotive technologies and parts. The Soviet Government had to create a whole new industry for manufacturing modern automotive components involving hundreds of production facilities and hundreds of thousands of workers.
It was a completely different car for Soviet drivers without any connections to other Soviet cars, both visually and technically. This resulted in a very unusually good handling and feeling of the car – in line with European contemporary competitors. And the car was the most advanced Soviet car.
It wasn’t very fast, but it was more dynamic than any other Soviet car. And it wasn’t any worse than the VW Golf or Fiat Ritmo in handling, driving, comfort, or convenience.
At the bottom line, in its essence, the Samara was a really interesting and good car for its time, with not that good assembly quality.

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My other videos mentioned in this video:
Fiat Ritmo:    • Fiat Ritmo / Fiat Strada – Cooler than VW ...  
Lada Riva:    • Lada Riva (VAZ-2105, 2107, 2104, Zhiguly)....  
Lada Niva:    • Lada Niva (VAZ-2121) – The best Soviet SUV...  
LuAZ 969M:    • LUAZ 969M – A bizarre Soviet off-roader yo...  
Mercedes-Benz W126:    • Mercedes-Benz W126 – A superstar of the 80’s  
Seat Ibiza:    • Seat Ibiza – A best-selling Spanish miracle  

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All pictures used in this video belong to their rightful and respected owners.
I use these pictures on the basis of the fair use principle: only for the purposes of research, teaching, and education.

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Music used in this video:
“By the Fireplace” by TrackTribe
“Tea Time” by Ofshane
“Nebular Focus” by Dan Henig
“Helium” by TrackTribe
“Lifting Dreams” by Aakash Gandhi

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