Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Russia's Putin "unhappy" with limo, Marussia and GAZ working on alternatives]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2013/02/27/russias-putin-unhappy-with-limo-marussia-and-gaz-working-on/http://www.autoblog.com/2013/02/27/russias-putin-unhappy-with-limo-marussia-and-gaz-working-on/http://www.autoblog.com/2013/02/27/russias-putin-unhappy-with-limo-marussia-and-gaz-working-on/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



A few years ago Russian president Dmitri Medvedev decided he wanted officials to be chauffeured in Russian limousines, not the German executive sedans everyone had become accustomed to (such as the Mercedes-Benz pictured above). Naturally, that meant turning to Russia's own ZiL to create a litter worthy of a plutocrat and glorious Russian history. The plan had two big problems, the first being that ZiL stopped making limos in 1991 and was only producing trucks and armored military vehicles.

But that didn't stop the party. The orders to ZiL were to create something powered by a V8 that was able to carry three people and reach 130 miles per hour. It must also represent "the best traditions of Soviet limousine building." Zil got to work, spending years and who knows how many rubles to create the armored sedan it unveiled last Fall: the ZiL-4112P, powered by a 7.7-liter V8 that reportedly has more than 400 horsepower. When comparing the 4112P to Obama's presidential conveyance, ZiL's director of limousine production said, "If you look at what Obama drives around in its a scary submarine, no kind of aesthetic, it's awful to look at."

No matter that, the car has one more big problem: President Putin is apparently unhappy with it. The president hasn't publicly disclosed his issues with the car, but the Moscow Times said that Putin "was not pleased" by the looks of the 4112P and noted that the car "needed adjustments." ZiL's response to the report was to say that the president wasn't actually given the 4112P - which, if true, would mean they gave him a presidential limo they haven't revealed to the public instead of the one they threw a giant party for and used to demonstrate the comparative ugliness of its American counterpart.

The mess has left an opening for GAZ and Marussia, with both companies working on alternatives to whatever is on offer from ZiL. GAZ is building something based on the Audi A8 that it says will be ready by 2014, Marussia's "completely original model" will arrive in 2015.

Russia's Putin "unhappy" with limo, Marussia and GAZ working on alternatives originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>4112-plimousineputinrussiavladimir putinzilzil-4112pWed, 27 Feb 2013 18:02:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/20475851/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2013/02/27/russias-putin-unhappy-with-limo-marussia-and-gaz-working-on/20475851/article-detail.xml 20475851 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2013/02/vladimir-putin-limo-628_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2013/02/vladimir-putin-limo-628.jpg <![CDATA[London's special traffic lanes for Olympians branded 'Zil lanes']]>http://www.autoblog.com/2012/08/02/londons-special-traffic-lanes-for-olympians-branded-zil-lanes/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/08/02/londons-special-traffic-lanes-for-olympians-branded-zil-lanes/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/08/02/londons-special-traffic-lanes-for-olympians-branded-zil-lanes/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

ZIL 115 Limousine

The British have a unique sense of humor - think Monty Python and Benny Hill - and there's no reason that the 2012 Olympics shouldn't be cause for celebrating it.

So when we caught wind of this story from the BBC, we had to smile. It seems Londoners fed up with the Olympic intrusion into their daily lives have dubbed the special lanes of traffic used by athletes and IOC officials "ZIL lanes," in reference to the notorious practice of having dedicated lanes of traffic for Communist Party poobahs in the Soviet Union.

ZIL was the manufacturer of the giant black limousines - like the 114 model pictured above - that denoted party power in the old USSR. Despite having little traffic at the time, Moscow had a few of these rezervniye polosy lanes, according to the BBC, one of which is still in operation. While the ZIL limos are now resigned to history, Kutuzovsky Prospekt now sees plenty of high-powered German machinery ferrying Russian officials past the proletariat.

London's special traffic lanes for Olympians branded 'Zil lanes' originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>114114 limousinelimousinelondonlondon olympicsolympicsolympics 2012soviet unionussrzilzil laneszil limousineThu, 02 Aug 2012 09:30:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/20290366/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2012/08/02/londons-special-traffic-lanes-for-olympians-branded-zil-lanes/20290366/article-detail.xml 20290366 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/07/zil-114-limo-opt_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/07/zil-114-limo-opt.jpg -1 2