Moskvitch 412
The Moskvitch 412 is a small family car produced by Soviet/Russian manufacturer MZMA/AZLK in Moscow from 1967 to 1975, and by IZh in Izhevsk from 1967 to 1982. It was a more powerful and prestigious version of the M-408 model, offering more features for a higher price.
Design
The Moskvitch 412 derived from the Moskvitch 408, differing in more powerful 1.5 engine. The earliest engines for the 412 were built in 1964. The Moskvitch 412 had a slanted inline-four engine with a block, head, and inlet manifold cast in aluminium alloy to keep the engine weight down, and a hemispherical combustion chamber. Steel cylinder liners were replaceable to enable easy repair of the engine instead of having to replace it entirely. Since it was of an OHC design, it was taller than the OHV MZMA-408 engine it replaced, which is why it was mounted at a slant. The UZAM-412 had a capacity of c.c. and developed 75 horsepowers. Its more powerful version, the Moskvitch-412-2V, had 100 h.p. and was installed on sports cars. The UZAM-412 engine, with a light alloy block, was designed by Igor I. Okunev. According to some observers, it bore some similarities to the contemporary BMW M 115 motor used in the BMW 1500 model, although in other ways they are different from each other. The similarity between the two engines is purely superficial and limited only to the tilt angle of the cylinder block and between the valves and the gear of the overhead camshaft. The gearbox inherited from the M-408 was improved, with the gearbox ratios being revised to make better use of the increased power output. Until early 1969, M412 had the gear lever on the steering column, just like M-408, and did not have bucket seats, but a front bench. From early 1969 on, because another gearbox was installed in order to make a better use of the power and torque and to improve performances, M-412 had the gear lever mounted on the floor. The M-408 had the gear lever mounted on the floor since late 1973. Initially, the 412 was designed as a replacement for the 408, but they ended up being built together at the same plant. The decision to keep 408 in production was that it was more suited to harsh conditions than the 412; it could tolerate 75 octane fuel and could work with lower grade oils.In 1969, both the 412 and the related 408 had their bodies redesigned. These were notable for being the first Moskvitch models to feature rectangular headlights and horizontal rear lights, which passed on to the 2138/2140 in 1976, replacing round headlights and vertical rear lights. Only rear triangular turn signals remained on vestigial tailfins. Until then, the M-412 profited from heightened tailfins and tanned headlight lamps on export models. The first series Moskvich 412 is quite rare today as they were more expensive and thus built în lower numbers than the 408. Another notable feature were the so-called side signals, mounted on the C-pillars on some vehicles and similar to the American "opera lights". The designers "had paid real attention to passive safety," the car was crash-tested, met the standards of safety adopted by the UNECE, and received an international safety certificate as a result of almost five months of tests in France. It was upgraded with dual-circuit braking system with power assistance, disc brakes on the front wheels since 1970, reinforced car-body structure, and passive safety features such as soft grip steering wheel cover, soft interior parts, seat belts, and padded dashboard. It was the first Moskvitch to pass safety-features tests in France, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Sweden in 1970–71, and in Western Germany in 1972. The modernized model, both for export and domestic market, received a factory code M-412IE, to mark, that it fulfils new safety requirements.
While AZLK continued to manufacture the 408 version, Izh stopped production of the 408 in order to concentrate exclusively on the 412. Most 412s delivered in the Soviet Union were made by Izh, rather than AZLK. Although designed mainly for the Soviet domestic market, it was also exported in the eastern bloc countries in order to keep up with 412 demand. Moskvitch 412s made by Izh were considered to have a better quality than AZLK by many owners, regarding the assembly, quality of the interior, receiving better insulation, altogether at a lower price. AZLK made 412s were mostly for western export.
SATRA Motors entered M-412s in the Group One Production Saloon Car Championship in 1972 and 1973, where it easily beat "sharp-handling but underpowered" Hillman Imps and Austin Minis. It also placed 1-2-3 in the 1973 Avon Round Britain Rally and scored a class win in the South Africa Safari Rally the same year.
Trims and models
Moskvitch
- M-412, the base sedan model that underwent various adaptations marked by adding different letters such as "E", "I", "U", "P", etc. to its name. They usually meant the class of the vehicle and were preferred over precising words used on earlier models. Kerb weight of the 412 was.
- М-427, a station wagon on the same base, produced from 1969, replacing the M-426 wagon. In 1972, this got a new one-piece upward-hinged tailgate. AZLK stopped making these in 1976; IZh continued with production until 1982. Starting 1971, the base of this model served to create the Izh-2125 hatchback.
- M-434, which was the unibody sedan delivery and pickup variant that succeeded the M-433 straight from 1967 to 1973. Both this model and the M-427 kept their rear light tailfin design until 1982, and passed it on to M-2137 variants from 1975.
IZh
- IZh-412 practically similar to M-412, with slight changes in the frontal grille, most notably retaining twin round headlights. The car was still marketed as Moskvich 412 and had such name on a rear hood, while IZh-412 was a factory designation. After a facelift in 1982 it received a black grille with indicators on outer sides of headlights, and hollow door handles, and remained in production until 1997.
- IZh-427 was a duplicate of the M-427, with no other changes beside the company logo. The car, however, entered in production only in 1971 because of the abundance in Moskvitch variants.
- IZh-2125 – surnamed "Kombi", was the first Soviet hatchback series produced from 1973 to 1982, then after a facelift as IZh-21251. It was then kept in production until 1997.
- IZh-2715 was IZh's panel van variant with a high roof, produced from 1972 until 2001. In 1982 it underwent a facelift, along with other IZh models.
- IZh-27151 was IZh's pick-up truck, produced from 1974 until 2001. After a facelift in 1982 it was designated IZh-27151-01, or IZh-27151-013-01 in lengthened version.
Relationship to the M-408
The main differences between the Moskvitch-412 and the Moskvitch-408 were:
| Moskvitch 412 | Moskvitch 408 | |
| Production | 1967–76 | 1964–76 |
| Engine model | 412 | 408 |
| Chassis | 408 ; 412 | 408 ; 412 |
| Successor | Moskvitch 2140 | Moskvitch 2138 |
The differences between the 412/408 chassis:
| 1969–75 | 1967–69 | |
| Features | Square headlights; horizontal rear lights; triangular rear turn signal markers; separated front seats; floor-mounted gearshift lever. | 2 or 4 round headlights ; vertical rear lights; front bench seat ; column-mounted gearshift lever. |