ZiL is a major Russian truck and heavy equipment manufacturer, which also produced armored cars for most Soviet leaders, as well as buses, armored fighting vehicles, and aerosani. The company also produces hand-built limousines and high-end luxury sedans in extremely low quantities, primarily for the Russian government. ZiL passenger cars are priced at the equivalent of models from Maybach and Rolls-Royce, but are largely unknown outside the CIS and production rarely exceeds a dozen cars per year.
Let’s visit its limousine production department and find out what their secret and plans for the future are.
They stopped their limo mass production in 1999. Actually, they never put their limos into mass production because each car is individual and handmade. In the Soviet time, they would produce about 25 limos a year. However, in the early 2000s there was no necessity to produce these cars anymore because government officials switched to the Mercedes. They resumed the work in 2007 and now they manufacture and repair their old or damaged models.
“Be careful while working!”
So, how and who they assemble their limos for?
Hand assembling.
Right now, this old limo with bullet holes on the windows is being repaired. After the reconstruction, it is going to look just like new.
Most of the limos by ZiL can be found in private collections. They are really very valuable because each limo is handmade and unique.
ZiL limos are equipped with 8-cylinder 7.7 l 315 hp engines! Their fuel consumption is 30 to 40 l for 100 km; maximum speed is claimed to be 200 km/h. It’s almost a sports car which costs ZiL from 100 to 150 thousand dollars to produce (each). They sell their limos for about 250 thousand dollars which is obviously overpriced.
In 2010, they assembled four limos for the parade which was to take place on Red Square on May, 9th. However, Ministry of Defense canceled its order and exposed other cars instead.
One of the four limos has been sold to a collector from Ukraine. They are estimated at 360,000 dollars.
Looking at all these people you come to think that what they do is more than just a job for them.
“Clean up the machine after work”.
Average salary of a regular ZiL worker is $800 a month.
In Soviet times, the company would employ over 800 people. Now there are just 172 workers many of whom have been working here all their life.
Some say that right now they are designing cars for members of Russian government or even for the president himself!
They hope to resume mass production (if we can call it “mass”) in future and promise to raise salaries to ZiL workers.
Just think about that! British Elizabeth has a Rolls-Royce and American President travels in his Cadillac. Maybe it’s time for Russian government to turn to Russian cars too and at the same time help the company which has produced cars for Gorbachev and Brezhnev.
via auto.vesti.ru
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29 Responses to “ZiL Limo Manufacture”
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A handmade and bulletproof car which costs 250 000 dollars is definitely not overpriced.
If they have bulletholes as is implied in the post than they are not bulletproof. simple as that.
The bullets don’t just bounce off you know, the force has to be dispersed somewhere.
and armor is always below the outer hull – it is simply extremely expensive to make curved car body panels from thick armor plates. so there will be visible damage from shooting anyway, even if the bullets did not penetrate the interior
The most important question. Does it have an 8-track player?
Seriously? that much for that ugly thing?
Instead of plastics (used abundantly in American cars), other materials are used for the cars. Making them more pricey.
But yeah, some people want quality, other people want a plastic cheap car.
I would like to know the story for the car with the bullet holes.
This is a ZIL-4105, a prototype of armored limousine. It was tested at the range. Fired from different rifles and machine guns. Armor and bulletproof glass withstood all the tests – no pass-through penetration.
http://static2.aif.ru/pictures/201103/a_garaz_5_bl.jpg
I always found it curious that virtually all modern Russian government officials use the Mercedes. Exactly what message does this send to the Russian people?
Often I encounter the attitude among Russians that ‘anything Russian is good, anything not Russian is not good’. Yet time and again I see that anyone who can afford it doesn’t want to buy or own a Russian anything.
Ah, Russia: Ever the contradiction.
Mercedes is a better driving car, more quality. If you can pay for it, you buy better quality (which in most cases isnt made in Russia). Because Russians are generally not very wealthy, they just stick to the cheaper Russians goods and claim they bought it out of patriottism.
And Russia isnt communistic anymore so government officials are able to buy Mercedes cars, its not that they have to show undecadency anymore.
Cooooooooooooool!!!!!!!!!!!
Oldschool
Nice cars.. do they come with a golden AK-47 under the seats as a standard equipment or it is optional?
“30 l to 40 l for 100 km”
Who would buy such gas-guzzling monsters, should a “mass production” ever take place?
And for the common people?? what? Komunalkas?
exactly… and a 22hp zaporozhets car. worse even than a 1950 vw kaefer (beetle)
These are cool and have charm in their own…Russian way but the quality and design looks like something that would rival mid1980s American luxury barges. Not exactly world class luxury yet alone something that would rival maybach or rolls Royce.
they were a direct counterpart to 80s americans luxury barges. place one on Broadway parking lot in 1985 – and now one will guess its not an american car. All the design features are identical. straight lines, liveaxle, automatic gearbox with giant pushroad v8, lots of chrome. May be just a tiny little bit more elegant view.
The car sells for $250,000 and the average worker there is paid $800 per month. maybe it is time to organize a labor union.
they have 175 workers that collect an average of 800usd, that comes down to an average of 140.000USD a month, or 1.680.000USD for all salaries. they make/restore a few cars a year, lets say ten, that’s 2.500.000USD, gross profit of say 800.000USD, minus expenses nets the facory 400.000USD. divide that among shareholders and see what is left.
they sell 1-5 cars in a year…
Economically unviable. Russian mafiosi/government do not want the outdated junk and there is no export potential.
There’s huge number of sketches for new ZIL limousine. It bound to happen with all the opportunistic money and pride in Russia.
For example Slava Saakyan design studio made a ZIL concept proposition…
Pls be concerned about your own CZ gov., do not stick your nose in our life…that simple
I think it is good that these craftsmen are still working and building these fine cars.
i just read that putin is goin to put 2.500 dollars to re activate this factory and he is gonna make all goverment to start drivin russian cars again….
non russian. he spoke “prodused in russia” And BMW has a factory in russia… actually they already purchased a bunch of BMW 735li
I wanted to see Putin’s ZIL Slava Saakyan.
Russian rulers should drive Russian limos.!!!