The famous GAZ-66, also known as “shishiga”, “bump” or “shishak”, was the first of the Soviet cars in 1969 to receive the state “Quality Mark” mark.
At all times, the car was highly respected for its excellent off-road capabilities.
On loose soil, the GAZ-66 was able to move uphill at an angle of 22 degrees, and on hard soil it even overcame 37 degrees.
The Gorky Automobile Plant produced the GAZ-66 for 35 years: from 1964 to 1999. In total, about one million units were released. “Shishiga” was successfully exported to all countries of the former socialist camp.
The car was made in several dozen variants – there was even an attempt to create the appearance of a bus designed for nuclear conflict.
Among the shortcomings of the “shishigi” they noted the inconvenient location of the gear lever (right behind the driver), as well as the heat in the cabin: the engine is close … The army, moreover, disliked cabover cars as a class due to insufficient driver protection in combat conditions.
Mikhail Kolodochkin has been collecting unusual facts from the history of technology for many years. Did you know for example why UAZ skis?
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- Why was the GAZ-66 nicknamed “Shishiga”? Read more about it here.
- “Behind the wheel” can be read in Odnoklassniki.
Photo: screenshot from YouTube video