The UAZ-451S snowmobile was created in the early 1960s on the basis of the UAZ-451D rear-wheel drive truck. A set of metal skis was mounted on the car in place of the front wheels and a rear axle with a rubber-metal track drive. Later, detachable skis were mounted directly on the front wheels.
Initially, questions arose about the strength of the structure – in particular, the tracked car had to be reinforced with an external beam. However, experimental cars managed to pass the experimental drive from Novosibirsk to Ulyanovsk.
But the snowmobile did not go into the series: it did not arouse interest among potential consumers. It was decided that an all-wheel drive UAZ would pass on any road, but a full-fledged tracked all-terrain vehicle is still needed for off-road.
Mikhail Kolodochkin has been collecting unusual facts from the history of technology for many years. For example, did you know that the UAZ car was once created “Naughty” for the beach?
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