Manufacturer GAZ Layout FR layout Transmission 3-speed automatic | Class Full-size luxury car Engine 5.5 l M-13 V8 | |
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Production 1959-1981 (first prototype made in 1955 or 1956) | ||
A Chaika (Russian: Ча́йка), which means gull, is a luxury automobile from the Soviet Union made by GAZ. The vehicle is one step down from the ZIL limousine. Chaika production consisted of two generations, the M13 of 1959 to 1981 and the M14 of 1977 to 1988.
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M13 Chaika
The Mark 1 Chaika, the GAZ M13, debuted in 1958. It was produced from 1959 to 1981, with 3,179 built in all. The M13 was powered by a 195-hp SAE gross 5.5 L V8 and driven through a push-button automatic transmission of a similar design to the Chrysler TorqueFlite unit. It was offered as a saloon (GAZ 13), limousine (GAZ 13A), and four-door cabriolet (GAZ 13B) with an electrohydraulic top. The cabriolet was made in 1961 and 1962 for official parades.
RAF in Riga produced the GAZ 13A Universal, an estate, in the 1960s in Riga; this was also built as the GAZ 13C ambulance, as well as a hearse. Produced for a few years in the 1960s, it is the lowest-volume Chaika variant. Small numbers were also built for Mosfilm. As a limousine-class car, Chaikas were available only to the Soviet government, and could not be purchased by average citizens. However, citizens were allowed to rent Chaikas for weddings. Chaikas were used by Soviet ambassadors and Communist Party First Secretaries in East Germany, Korea, Bulgaria, Hungary, Mongolia, and Finland, among others; Fidel Castro was given one by General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev, who himself preferred the Chaika to his ZIL, and kept one at his summer dacha. For their larger size and more powerful V8, Chaikas were also ordered in some quantity by the KGB. Top speed was 99 mph (159 km/h).
Most Chaikas were saloons. The M13B was built for only two years 1961 and 1962. The GAZ 13 was discontinued in 1981. The M14 debuted in 1977, and ran to the end of Chaika production in 1988. Enthusiasts often point to the 1955-56 U.S. Packards as the inspiration for the early Chaika's styling. Nevertheless, Packards of 1955-56 are also have a lot in common with earlier Soviet concept ZIS-112 "Odnoglazka" (1951).
M14 Chaika
The vintage 1950s-style M13 was succeeded by the more modern Chaika M14 introduced in 1977 (although production of both versions overlapped by several years). Although visually modern and fitted with the latest electronic luxury features, the M14 was in fact built around the drivetrain and undercarriage of the older model. The M14 engine was a modernized 5,526 cc (337.2 cu in) and achieved 220 hp SAE gross. A seven-seater, with special soundproofing, it measured 611 cm (241 in) long overall and weighed in at 2,600 kg (5,732 lb). A four-door convertible, the 14-95, appeared in 1982.
The Chaika M14 remained in production from 14 October 1977 to 1988, when the Chaika limousine brand was ended.
Around a hundred M14s were built each year, with total production (including those out of spares in 1989) reaching 1,114. On orders from Mikhail Gorbachev, the blueprints and tooling were destroyed as part of his "fighting privileges" campaign under perestroika.