- As the official state limousines of the Soviet state, ZiL limousines offered luxuries available to only a select few.
- This one was reportedly part of the fleet used by Mikhail Gorbachev, and was in service with the Russian Federation until 2001.
- With the auction set to end on Tuesday, July 25, bidding on the Bring a Trailer online auction is currently at $50,000.
With all due respect to the likes of the Lada Niva or the GAZ Volga, some Russia-made cars are more equal than others. Today’s pick is a battleship-sized limousine from the height of the Cold War, a ZiL 41045 believed to have ferried none other than Mikhail Gorbachev himself. It’s listed for sale on the auction site Bring a Trailer, which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos.
Just look at the size of this thing. The styling is pure Soviet Blocky, all square angles and imposing bulk. You can just imagine it idling at a curb in front of some brutalist concrete structure, waiting patiently to ferry its occupants to a high-level meeting about nuclear proliferation or vassal states or the strategic national vodka reserve.
ZiL stands for Zavod Imeni Likhachyova, the name taken from the factory in which these cars were built. Before that, the company was ZIS, the S standing for Stalin. This is a car as deeply Russian as borscht, or accidentally coincidentally falling out of a window after issuing public criticisms of the current ruling party.
This example was built in 1985, which saw ZiL make some minor cosmetic upgrades to its long-running limousines. The mechanicals remained the same as the previous 4104 model: a 300-hp 7.7-liter V-8, a three-speed automatic transmission, and a curb weight of roughly 7000 pounds. Oh, and by the way, that V-8 has redundant ignition and fueling systems and is hardened against EMP strikes.
Inside, this ZiL is as well appointed as a Soviet leader’s summer dacha, with mohair seats in back and birchwood veneers. You also get a Radiotehnika stereo and a Vilma cassette player—ideal for blasting out Boney M’s Rasputin. It’s 20 feet of Politburo special treatment. You’d probably also need to get yourself one of those fur hats.
Built in vanishingly small numbers, a ZiL limousine makes for a unique collector car, albeit one with a prodigious thirst for high-octane fuel (95 octane is recommended). You need not approve of the policies of an era which produced a for-elites-only car like this to understand and appreciate its historical value.
With five days to go, the high bid sits at $50,000. Comrades, don’t miss out on your chance to bid for this rare collectible.
Contributing Editor
Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels.
