In the Soviet Union, cars were tested for passive safety, but the conditions were very different: no collapsible barriers with partial overlap, just a concrete wall, direct impact, 100% overlap. In addition to the frontal crash test, there were others: a rear-end collision, an imitation of a rollover… And yes, the safety requirements for a car were much lower then than now, but the published images are very impressive.
They were collected in one overview video by the Auto World Youtube channel, and the summary, with a little timing, nevertheless turned out to be quite voluminous. Muscovites of various models, the UAZ-452 “bread” and the UAZ-469 (now the Hunter model), the Yunost experimental bus, the executive ZIL, two generations of the Volga … The list goes on, but it’s better to see for yourself.
Perhaps only VAZ products are ignored, but it may be worth returning to them somehow separately. In the meantime, one can only notice that a blow to a concrete cube for the equipment of previous years was not always particularly painful.
But the consequences for people, if they were in such circumstances, would in many cases be fatal. Soviet metal was indeed strong, but the excellent impact energy went straight to the cabin.
- Did you watch the video? And now compare with the results of the Euro NCAP crash test of the latest Kia Sportage crossover.
- “Behind the Wheel” can be seen on RuTube.