Car racing is very popular in Western countries. Manufacturing firms traditionally invest part of their profits in order to demonstrate their technological capabilities, and prizes are the best advertising of famous brands.
Such a profession as a designer of high-speed cars did not exist in the USSR . There was no need for such spectacular competitions, the mass consumer was constantly in cramped conditions. When cars were sold freely, the population did not have the money, and as soon as the necessary funds from some of the people appeared, cars disappeared somewhere, despite the constant growth of their production. Yet the enthusiasts were there.
The first record car of Agitov
Yevgeny Agitov, the first designer of high-speed cars in the USSR, decided to create a car that, no less, could break the record. The design bureau of the Gorky Automobile Plant in 1938 was headed by Andrei Lipgart, he strongly supported this initiative. As a result of the hard work of two talented engineers, a miracle came to light, called a record car, since there was no point in arranging a race for the lack of worthy rivals. The official GAZ-GL1 index stands for "Racing Lipgart." Agitov did not mind.
The basis for the creation of the car was the mass-produced Emka GAZ-M1, but with significant structural changes. Initially, the engine was boosted by adding 15 “horses” due to an increase in working volume, and then it was replaced by a more powerful, stylish one. Outwardly, the car became completely different, with its aerodynamics it resembled an airplane fuselage . The speed reached almost 168 km / h, which, of course, was a good result, but by no means a record. In 1940, the GL-1 was dismantled in the hope of doing something better, but the war soon began, and it was not time for sports.
Our "Star" Peltzer - the fastest!
After the Victory, trophies began to arrive in the USSR, including samples of former enemy equipment. Alexander Peltzer, another designer of high-speed cars, successfully took advantage of this circumstance. In the USSR, the Zvezda race car was built on the basis of an engine from a DKW sports motorcycle. This happened in 1946 in the Glavmotovenoprom Central Design Bureau, which was created at that time, later renamed into US. The German motor was later replaced by a domestic one, and five years later Zvezda-M-NAMI set nine world speed records in different categories. This achievement was facilitated by the ability to quickly replace the engine with another one, with a volume of 250 to 500 cubic meters. see. The car accelerated to 215 km / h (at 350 "cubes").
"Kharkov" designer Lorent
In the 50s, when our country entered the FIA international auto federation, Eduard Osipovich Lorent, a talented designer of high-speed cars, showed himself. In the USSR and beyond its borders, this name became famous in 1960, when it was accelerated to 286 km / h from a course at a kilometer distance on the Kharkiv-L2 car built by itself, which is still considered an unrivaled achievement.
The son of Lorent Valery, also a car designer, broke several international records on the L-2 and created other models of high-speed vehicles, such as Kharkov-L3, the first dragster in the USSR (a class of racing cars starting from a place and competing at short distances), and Kharkov-L4 (formula class).
The Golden Age of Soviet Fireballs
The sixties and seventies became the “golden age” of Soviet race cars built in the factory. Excellent results were shown in the years 1976-1978 by the BPS-Estonia car, which was driven by V. Barkovsky, its designer. The USSR once again demonstrated to the world its technological capabilities. True, in single copies ...