Reimagined: The ZIL Youth Through the 1990s and Its Unlikely Links to Ford

Continuation. Read here how the Yunost minibus emerged from the ZIL-111, how it earned a bus competition in Nice, and the surprising ties between this bold ZIL project and Ford.

Hope for the youth

Following the success in Nice, plans surfaced to build 300 buses in 1968. Yet there was little material backing, and the plant faced its own set of priorities, split between meeting existing orders and the new, costly project. The challenge was clear: where would hundreds of expensive classless buses be produced, and who would buy them?

In 1970 the vehicle received a facelift that made it look more restrained, harmonious, and modern. Still, the model known as ZIL-119-71 was the same line as the Youth stereotype in spirit, though the body badge had already faded away earlier.

ZIL-118K, the second generation, appeared at the Autoservice-73 exhibition in Moscow.

Unfinished samples were assembled slowly, like ships on MSC 6, the same venue where government officials gathered. The ZIL-119, later renamed ZIL-118K, was widely known, even if official company directories kept it discreet. The car became a symbol of the factory and the Soviet auto industry, appearing at foreign and domestic shows multiple times.

ZIL-118KL served as a forensics lab in 1982.

A prototype ZIL-119-70 with air conditioning, a feature the car truly needed.

In 1977, Alexei Kosygin, head of the Council of Ministers, signed a directive to produce two thousand ZIL-118Ks annually. This was part of a broader effort to reduce the cost of the next limousine, ZIL-114, while the bus remained substantially more expensive than the RAF in the evaluating stages.

On the ZIL-118K, the back door opened to the right.

However, it was not obvious at first that the 118th carried a 170-horsepower variant of the ZIL-375 engine paired with a three-speed ZIL-114 transmission. The setup proved ill-suited for mass production, and testers filed a list of concerns. The driver’s seat, inherited from limousines, was uncomfortable for long drives. The front suspension bore the load, while insufficient ventilation and heating left the cabin stuffy and the feet cold. These issues needed attention for any mass rollout.

Small-scale production was targeted for 1984, though belief in it remains doubtful. Yet the most remarkable outcome was that a large-scale (albeit conditionally) bus production began in the early 1990s.

See you at the museum!

Series production never took off. Before the car’s thirtieth anniversary in 1990 it received an update with the ZIL-3207 index. The engine output rose to 180 hp at 3600 rpm, the top speed reached 140 km/h, and disc brakes were introduced.

Late ZIL-3207 with a redesigned front end and rectangular headlights.

From 1991 to 1995, the factory sold thirty cars, while thirty-one had been assembled in the prior thirty years. A price tag of roughly 120 thousand dollars made it comparable to the most expensive luxury cars. Yet during rapid wealth shifts, some buyers still showed interest.

The need for service, repairs, and spare parts remained a barrier. For a giant factory facing hard times, the Youth model did not offer a practical path forward. A pickup version with a cutaway cab appeared—a bus body mounted on a cargo chassis—signaling a pivot in design.

Experienced pickup ZIL-32072G.

A prototype truck with the cab removed from the ZIL-3207 body.

The assembly of ZIL-3207 buses ceased in 1995, with the last bodies built in 1998. Of the 87 machines across generations and variations, only a few survive. For collectors, they are coveted rarities. And for the Youth, a bright, unique piece of history.

Such an unusual, striking car could only arise in the specific time and place in which it did. It didn’t quite fit the world it was born into, and from the start it faced an uncertain future. Yet Youth remains a vivid artifact of national history, beyond just a vehicle.

Bus of the latest generation with a high roof ZIL-32071.

medical fact

ZIL-118A became known as a first-class nurse vehicle in the USSR, later called reanimobiles. In 1964 a prototype arrived with a lifting roof raising internal height to 190 cm. The roof stretched like accordion panels. It was created at the Bayan factory named after the Soviet army, equipped with modern medical gear and even a lifting operating table driven by hydraulics.

ZIL-118A, an ambulance with the era’s most advanced equipment and a lifting roof.

The earliest ZIL-118A units operated in Moscow and Leningrad. Doctors and patients alike appreciated the spacious, smooth, well-sprung ride, and the version without a lifting roof, ZIL-118S, remained in service as well.

Only two high-sanitary ZIL-118KA units were produced.

BORN CARS

American Chevrolet Greenbrier was built on the Corvair passenger model. In the van’s design there is a distant resemblance to Youth, though structurally the Greenbrier (made in 1961-1965) differed: its air-cooled boxer engine sat under the rear floor.

Checker Aerobus was produced from 1962 to 1975 in sedan and station wagon forms, with six and eight doors and engines delivering 160-200 hp. The eight-door, 12-seat estate that competed with Youth in 1967 measured 6852 mm in length and had a 3924 mm wheelbase. It was mainly used for transfers to upscale hotels and small group tours.

• 300 hp with a different trunk configuration—this is a sight you’ve never seen in a bus version!
• Enhance engine longevity with modern fuel additives and lubricants.
• Behind the wheel can also be read in Telegram [Citation: Auto History Archive].