The LiAZ-677 earned the nickname “cattle truck,” a harsh label for a machine that was remarkably advanced for its era in the 1960s. In crowded rush hours, watching a passenger pressed against the railing, or even riding it, one might reach for a stronger word. Yet the fault wasn’t the bus so much as the schedule, the scarcity of private cars, and a host of other constraints of the time.
Sergei Kanunnikov, a longtime contributor to Za Rulem, the venerable Russian automotive publication, recalled several amusing anecdotes about the LiAZ-677. Here are three that stand out.
Filling up
Choosing a diesel engine for the bus wasn’t an option, so a gasoline powerplant was installed, and fuel economy was not a priority. In the USSR, the LiAZ-677 cost very little to operate at the moment of its introduction.
The engine was a V8 ZIL-375YES with a 7-liter displacement and 180 horsepower. Official documents pegged fuel consumption at 40 liters per 100 kilometers, but real-world use often saw around 50 liters burned for every hundred kilometers.
Two steps
The LiAZ-677 wasn’t meant for intercity travel. It was designed for urban service, equipped with a two-speed mechanical gearbox developed by NAMI and LAZ. The two gear ratios were 1.79 and 1.00, delivering surprising performance in a crowded city environment. The bus could climb modest inclines and press on despite a packed cabin, never truly stopping as long as there was fuel and momentum.
From 1968 onward, domestically produced LiAZ-677s came with the mechanical transmission, while export models offered an alternative automatic option as an upgrade.
Riding through the air
The LiAZ-677 featured air suspension, a rarity among contemporary domestic buses. Similar pneumatic springs were used on some American intercity coaches as well, but few others adopted the technology to that extent. The result was a notably smooth ride, with a notable sway over bumps and potholes. On tight turns, passengers learned quickly to hold the handrails, and the rear seats were equipped with full-length rails from the windows to the aisle to keep everyone steady. The suspension absorbed irregularities without allowing the cabin to jolt or shift seriously, keeping control steady for the driver and comfortable for riders.
Learn more
For readers curious about LiAZ-677 and comparable overseas buses, further details are available in the February issue of the magazine Behind the Wheel. The issue is on sale now.
The discussion above draws on the City News feature by Sergei Kanunnikov, originally published in 2023 in Behind the Wheel. The material has been updated to reflect current information about the LiAZ-677 and its place in bus design history.