ZAZ-965 Zaporozhets

The smallest and cheapest car in the USSR. The hunchbacked Zaporozhets, with its air-cooled engine in the tail, was the butt of a thousand jokes — and the first and only car for millions of families.

The ZAZ-965 took inspiration from the Fiat 600 but was thoroughly reworked for Soviet conditions: an air-cooled V4 in the tail, independent suspension all round and compact dimensions. It was conceived as the most affordable car for ordinary people, costing two to three times less than a Moskvich and three to four times less than a Volga. It became a folk hero of sorts — mocked in jokes, yet loyally serving families across the country.