The most coveted Volga: 7 seats and a TV inside

At the very end of the fifties, three prototypes based on the GAZ-M21 were built in Gorky: a station wagon, an ambulance and a van.

In 1962 cars of the second series were put on the assembly line: with a different grille, bumpers and lighting.

The serial van never appeared. A station wagon and an ambulance were produced.

Two cubes and a half ton in it

The rear door of the GAZ-22 is double-leaf. The lower part (board) opens almost to the bumper. Glass was raised when it was necessary to transport something bulky – for example, a TV or a refrigerator, traditionally used in the USSR to measure the capacity of a car. Convenient and simple.

Everything is thought out even according to modern parameters. The spare wheel is removed on the ground. True, to get it, you need to unload the trunk. In the GAZ-24-02, the station wagon of the next generation, there was a niche under the floor that opened from the outside. But if you take the spare wheel out of the GAZ-22, you will get less stains.

The rear seat can be folded down as in modern cars. According to the passport in this Volga as much as two cubic meters of volume. I think it’s true, if it loads to the ceiling. Load capacity – 400 kg.

Unlike the GAZ-24-02, this is not a miserable hard backrest, but a full-fledged comfortable (as in the usual Volga GAZ-21) sofa.

There were seven seats in the Volga GAZ-24-02. The same number was in the GAZ-22. Just not with us!

Eight places for export

Inventive and practical Europeans also put the third row of seats in this Volga. They pointed out that there were not even seven, but eight seats in the car! Assuming three people can sit in front of it.

On a standard GAZ-22, a 2.45-liter four-cylinder engine developed 75 horsepower. Some of the export vehicles were equipped with an engine with a capacity of 80 and even 85 horsepower. In modernized form, these engines survived until the early 21st century.

Slowly but firmly

Of course, 75 forces per one and a half tons of curb weight is quite a bit. But no one expected the temperament of a sports car from the Volga. The maximum speed of the GAZ-22 in the passport is 120 km/h. It turns out that 10 km is less than the GAZ-21 sedan.

Cruising speed of the Volga – 80 km / h, from the force of 90 km/h But if the suspension is in good condition, driving at this speed is quite comfortable.

The lack of power partly compensates for the high torque motor.

But the main virtue of such a Volga is a comfortable chassis. And at the same time – strength and adaptability to bad roads.

Barn for the chosen ones

GAZ-22 was the dream of many Soviet citizens. Unfortunately, almost impossible.

The lion’s share of station wagons went to government agencies. Including the police and security services.

Only cars bought with special permits and issued to famous people ended up in private hands.

The great actor Yuri Nikulin drove for a long time in the GAZ-22 (he was fond of other Volga), and then his circus partner Mikhail Shulgin. The same Volga was used for some time by the poet, playwright and hymn writer Sergei Mikhalkov.

Rare lucky few later received only heavily traveled specimens that had been decommissioned by state institutions.

How it was, how it remained

And in the early eighties, the Volga GAZ-22 remained a symbol of strength, reliability and indestructibility. Not to mention space.

Gradually, the GAZ-22 became a rarity. Yes, and they made a few such machines – about 25 thousand, along with “nurses”.

Now Volga-UnivErsal, in museum language, is a particularly valuable exhibit. Was a rarity – a rarity and remained.

• We have collected in this publication a damn dozen of the most unusual GAZ-21s.
• It’s time to warm up the car! “Avtoteplo” keeps the engine compartment warm for up to 6 hours and perfectly withstands high temperatures. With Auto Blanket you reduce fuel consumption when warming up the car.
• “Driving” can also be seen on YouTube.