ZIL 4102
Car of the Day #228: 1987 ZIL 4102 – Deputy Dipshit
In some alternate dimension, there probably is a world where executives enjoy the ZIL 4102 in place of a Mercedes-Benz S Class. Or, a beefed-up Eagle Premier instead of the ZIL 4102.
Two of these prototype limousines were built between 1987 and 1991; if you think parts are tough to come by for your project car, may I direct your attention to this incredibly rare Russian luxury sedan, and the person who owns the final surviving example?
Sketches and styling mock-ups of the ZIL 4102 • ZIL, source unknown
For the curious, this is a front-drive sedan, even, and powered by one of three engines, including a diesel and a smaller V6 that remained on the shelf and reportedly never installed in a prototype. Here’s what Autoweek has to say about this:
“The sedan would have been powered by a range of engines, including a base 4.5-liter V6 unit—a novelty for ZiL—in addition to the more traditional, heftier, 6.0-liter V8 gas and 7.0-liter diesel units. The prototypes, however, were fitted with 7.7-liter V8 engines simply because that's what ZiL had in its parts bin at the time, paired with four-speed automatic transmissions. But a five-speed manual would also have been on the menu. Among the many advancements of the design was the fact that it was the first unibody car for ZiL, as the previous-gen 115 family had still featured a body-on-frame design.” –Jay Ramey, Autoweek
Two prototypes for the ZIL 4102; one gold, one black • source unknown
The good one to have is presumably the 6.0-litre V8; though with all that weight up front, I can't imagine it was a very athletic car.
Some body panels were made from fibreglass to save weight, and it was a true unibody design — the Wikipedia page for the car seems to think this was the first Russian car so constructed, but I doubt it…right? The only performance numbers I can dig up suggest a zero-to-100 km/h (62 mph) time of about 10 seconds.
ZIL 4102 • source unknown
Apparently made at the direction of then-President Mikhail Gorbachev because the state limos were looking outdated (and then dismissed by the same politician as a statement against government overspending), the 4102 was designed only after engineers dissected a Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit…or so the story goes.
One remains, the gold car, and some believe the black 4102 survives as well.
