The styling of cars has greatly evolved since the creation of the automobile over 130 years ago. Early designs that were effectively horseless carriages changed drastically over the years, thus resulting in what we call a car today. Over this time, there have been many designs that captivated automotive buyers while others disgusted buyers. There are plenty of lists covering some of the ugliest cars ever made, with cars like the Pontiac Aztek and Fiat Multipla making regular appearances. While many selections on these lists are spot on, there appears to be a distinct lack of Soviet-made cars labeled as hideous.
Generally speaking, Soviet-made cars have a terrible reputation for being some of the worst cars to ever hit roads around the world. Soviet cars like the Trabant 601 deserve to be labeled as the worst cars ever made, as their horrid build quality, terrible driving dynamics, and severe lack of power meant they had almost no positive qualities.
Oddly enough, the best part of many soviet cars was the way they looked. The Trabant 601 and Lada Riva, for example, looked like a half-decent competitor to cars like the Ford Anglia and Cortina. Others like the GAZ Volga 24 copied American car styling of the '50s and '60s, thus resulting in a fair number of good looking soviet car models. Despite that, there are still a fair number of Soviet-made cars that were terrible to look at. This article will cover 9 terrible looking cars as well as one gorgeous car; all of which were designed during the times of the USSR.
10 Ugly: Tatra T603
Tatra has always been an oddball when it came to manufacturing cars. While the Czechoslovakian car maker has been reduced to only building trucks today, it has a rich history of creating some of the best cars to come out of the Soviet Union. One of the most famous cars designed by Tatra is the oddball Tatra 603; a rather oddly shapen executive sedan.
Part of the reason for the Tatra 603's odd shape was its rear-engined layout. Behind the rear seats sat an air-cooled V8 that drove the rear wheels. Its smooth body meant that the 603 was far more aerodynamic than most other sedans available at the time. However, despite the 603's innovative layout and bodywork, it was a rather hideous looking thing. Its awkward proportions and hideous front-end soiled what could have been a truly beautiful design. Thankfully, many enthusiasts have looked passed its odd looks and come to love it for its quirks.
9 Ugly: Dacia 1300
Yet another odd car company that found itself under the rule of the Soviet Union was Romanian carmaker Dacia. In modern times, Dacia is known in Europe for building some of the most affordable cars on the market. However, during the times of the Soviet Union, the young automaker was building a cheap copy of the Renault 12 for cash-strapped Romanian Citizens.
The best word to describe the styling of the Dacia 1300 is "awkward", as the car's proportions seem off regardless of what angle its viewed at. While the 1300's styling wasn't designed by Dacia, it suffers from being a rebadge of a car that was ugly to begin with. Although the Renault 12 and Dacia 1300 shared the same chassis, the plastic front facia of the Dacia was far uglier than it's Renault sibling. Also, the car shared the awkward forward-sloped roofline as well as the drooping hood and trunk of the Renault 12.
8 Ugly: SMZ S3D
During the times of the soviet union, the government would step-in to give transportation to those citizens who didn't have the money for a car. SMZ, a Russian microcar manufacturer, was generally given the contracts to produce the cars which the communist party would hand out to its people. In the case of the SMZ S3D, it was designed to be incredibly cheap and given away through the Soviet welfare program.
Thankfully for consumers at the time, the S3D was never offered to regular consumers outside of the social welfare program. The S3D was hideous from every angle, with styling that resembled a dumpster and the aerodynamics of a brick. Thanks to its anemic 18hp engine and heavy steel body, the S3D was as slow as it was ugly.
7 Ugly: ZAZ Tavira 1102
One of the largest car manufacturers to come out of the Soviet Union was a Ukrainian company by the name of ZAZ. They would create the wildly successful Zaporozhets, a small rear-engined car that would sell over 3 million units over 2 generations and a 34-year run. The ZAZ Tavira was meant to be its replacement and was released in 1988.
The largest strength of the Zaporozhets was it's funky 1960's styling. Although the Tavira was meant to serve as a replacement, it was far less attractive than its predecessor. It seems like the designers tried to copy the Citroen BX's styling but ended up creating a featureless hatchback. While the car's proportions are respectable, the front facia of the car lets the rest of the design down with its lack of grilles, vents or body lines.
6 Ugly: UAZ-452
During the times of the Soviet Union, the Russian manufacturer UAZ was building up a reputation for creating rugged offroaders. Many of these offroaders were either used as trucks or for military purposes. In the case of the 452, UAZ created a 4x4 van in 1965 for civilian and military use.
The UAZ-452 has a reputation for being an incredibly rugged vehicle for those living in rural eastern European communities. Unfortunately, it's offroading capability is the 452's only redeeming quality. In terms of aesthetics, most of the body appears to be a bland copy of the iconic VW Type 2 bus. Thanks to its bulbous form and hideous front end, the 452's terrible looks have earned it the nicknames of "tadpole" and "pill" in Eastern Europe.
5 Ugly: Wartburg 353
When asked about East German cars, most enthusiasts will think of the terrible Trabant. There were, however, 0ther car manufacturers operating in East Germany producing some of the Soviet Union's most unique cars. One such company was called Wartburg; a company that was commandeered from BMW at the time of the Soviet Occupation of Germany.
In 1966, Wartburg released the 353 models as a replacement for the gorgeous 311 models of the 1950s. While the 311 was one of the most beautiful cars to come out of the Soviet Union, the 353 let it's predecessor down with one of the laziest car designs of the USSR. Its boxy form and general lack of aesthetics let down a car that was arguably one of the best cars produced in the USSR.
4 Ugly: Luaz-969
Originally created by Ukrainian automaker ZAZ in 1965, the Ukrainian automaker Luaz continued building the 969 from 1971-1992. ZAZ had set out to create an affordable offroader by using an unreleased Moskvitch prototype as a framework. The result was one of the most capable off-roaders of the USSR.
Although it proved to be great in off-road settings, the 969 also earned a reputation for being incredibly dangerous to drive. Also, while it's a stubby body made it incredibly well suited for climbing, the 969's proportions are an absolute eyesore. It appears as though the designers had chopped off the bottom half of a jeep and mated it to the frame of a compact car. Arguably the worst part of the 969 was its front facia, which looked massive compared to the rest of the car.
3 Ugly: Izh-2125
Now a subsidiary of Lada, Izh was a small Russian manufacturer that built cars for larger automakers like Moskvitch in the USSR. After building the popular Moskvitch 412 for half a decade, Izh would create its own wagon/hatchback variant of the car called the Izh-2125. Also known as the "Kombi", the Izh-2125 is widely known as Russia's first true hatchback.
Although the 2125 turned out to be a successful model for Izh, it's design and proportions were less than stellar. The original design for the Moskvitch 412, upon which the 2125 was based, was a relatively handsome-looking sedan with no glaring design flaws. In the case of the 2125, however, the innovative hatchback design looked rather awkward compared to its sedan sibling. Also, as with many Russian cars, the design of the grille and front facia wasn't exactly pretty either.
2 Ugly: Lada Samara
Also known by the name AvtoVAZ, Lada is well-known around the world for it's Fiat 124-based Riva and its rugged Niva SUV. Building off the success of the Fiat-based 2101, Lada attempted to create a hatchback successor to its wildly popular family car. The result was the VAZ-2108, also called the Lada Samara, which was released in 1984.
Unfortunately for the Samara, it did not share any of the classic styling elements of its Fiat-derived predecessor. In an attempt to give the car a more modern appearance, Lada opted for an angular form adorned by large plastic bumpers. Unfortunately, as with many other cars on this list, the front end was arguably the worst element of the Samara. The grille and plastic front-end incredibly cheap and lazily designed, thus making it far less attractive when compared to other hatchbacks of the time.
1 Beautiful: GAZ Chaika 13
During the times of the Soviet Union, there were many car companies focussing on creating budget-oriented, mass-market cars for the general population. However, there were two car companies that were focussed solely on the social elite and government officials. Russian automaker GAZ was one of those companies catering only to the wealthiest people in the USSR. It was closely tied with another Russian company called ZIL, which was responsible for building Limousines for the USSR Communist Party.
One of the most infamous models to be created by GAZ is the Chaika 13; a car often used by the KGB, foreign dictators and USSR Communist party members. The Chaika 13 appeared to be a copy of a Packard Clipper with elements of Cadilac Eldorado Brougham sprinkled in as well. It's hard to believe that the Chaika was designed in Russia, as the car's contours and flashy chrome detailing fits in with most '50s American luxury cars. Although the Chaika may not have been the best Soviet-made car, it certainly was one of the most beautiful.