In Balashikha, a rare Moskvich-410 is offered for sale. This Soviet-era four-wheel-drive model was produced briefly, from 1957 to 1958 at the Moscow Small Car Plant (MZMA, later AZLK), with Moskvich-411 station wagons following in 1959 and 1960. Today only a handful of these cars remain in existence.
The Moskvich-410 is a four-wheel-drive version of the Moskvich-402 and represents a more modern evolution of the Moskvich-407 engine. An almost identical variant with these capabilities has appeared in a recent listing on Avito, marking it as a particularly rare find for collectors.
According to the seller, the car has undergone a full restoration. The body has seen new fenders, doors, part of the front, sill sections, a new hood, and a trunk lid. Gaps have been eliminated, thresholds treated with anti-gravel coating, and no filler was applied to the body; the finish is described as high quality. Chrome parts have been restored to their original luster.
The powertrain remains faithful to the model’s roots, with the engine at 35 horsepower and the original gearbox, transfer case, and axles in place. The vehicle rides on new M-51 tires, and the spare wheel has seen some use. Wheels have been refinished, and the car’s optical components reflect Soviet-era design. The interior has been refreshed with carpeting laid in the cabin and trunk areas.
Historical notes from enthusiasts highlight the challenge of converting a Moskvich-402 into a four-wheel-drive vehicle. The conversion required raising the engine above the driveshaft to strengthen the chassis, replacing both the front and rear axles, retaining the original cooling system radiator and oil cooler, and upgrading the suspension with lever shock absorbers instead of telescopic units. The steering column angle also had to be adjusted, and the old Moskvich-401 steering wheel was retained due to the hood’s design in the non-four-wheel-drive model. These modifications reflect the practical approach taken to adapt a civilian car for off-road and field-duty work.
Compared with the standard Moskvich-402, the four-wheel-drive sedan gained a ground clearance of 220 mm but increased the curb weight by about 200 kg, reaching roughly 1180 kg. Its top speed settled around 85 km/h. Factory notes from 1958 underscored the practical aim: the vehicle was meant to support field work across seasons for directors of maintenance teams, foremen, repair crews, and postmen. The car’s romance lies in its mission-focused design and its rarity as a factory experiment that bridged utility and engineering curiosity.
Only 7,580 Moskvich-410 four-wheel-drive sedans and 1,515 Moskvich-411 station wagons were produced, making the photographed example a genuine collectible today. The vehicle is registered with current numbers and the necessary documents. For true enthusiasts, the asking price of 1,300,000 rubles may be seen as fair given the history and rarity of the model.
- What is currently being produced at the once-new plant that bore the Moskvich name, and when might these cars be available to buyers?
- Details and insights can be found in the automotive feature titled Driving.