Avtovaz Lada 2105 (diecast 1:43, Agat)

This is Lada 2105. The model is made by Agat after The fall of The Soviet Union in scale 1:43. Everything opens on this model.

The Avtovaz/Lada 2105 model was a serious modernization of the AvtoVaz/Lada 2101 and its derivatives. The pilot batches of the 2105 were produced at the end of 1979, and full-scale production began on January 25, 1980. From 1995 to 2006 a VIS-2345 pickup and van were produced in small series based upon 2105 components and assemblies. During the early years of the 2105s production engines of 1.2, 1.3, and 1.5 litres were available. All used conventional carburettors. In the early 1990s, a 1.5 litre engine with fuel injection appeared . Finally In 2008, the engine was bored out to 1.6 litres and used in the 2105. Small runs of 2105s fitted with a rotary engine were made for experimental purposes and a number were fitted with the Vaz-541 diesel engine. In 1983, prices for the 2105 model cost between 7,500 roubles and 8,000 roubles. The last 2105 was assembled in December 2010, thus setting a record for the production life of a “VAZ” model: 31 years. In total, a little more than two million 2105 cars were made. After 2005 was sold as the Lada 2105 even in Russia.

Lada cars were already established on the UK market when the second generation Lada models were introduced. First the 1300GL arrived in 1983, and then the Riva 1200L with a 1,198 cc engine. British sales were based heavily on a low sales price and reputation for toughness. In 1986, 20,000 Ladas were sold in Britain which rose to 30,000 sold in 1988.

In a review of the car, the British automobile magazine Autocar noted its low price of only £3,158 (the equivalent of £10,736.82 in 2020), improved road performance and an “impressive list of standard equipment”, which included “height-adjustable headlamps, internally adjustable driver’s door mirror, velour-covered seats, heated rear window, illumination lights for bonnet and boot”, and a 21-piece toolkit. However, its relatively spartan interiors and ageing design meant that it was never aimed at buyers of market leaders’ similar-sized but more expensive products, such as the Ford Sierra, Vauxhall Cavalier and Austin Montego. It appealed as it offered a ‘new car at secondhand princes’. It sold well until the early 1990s, but at that point budget competitors from Daewoo, Hyundai, Kia and Proton, as well as the new Skoda Favorit pushed Lada sales into terminal decline.

The stricter European Union emissions requirements were the final straw so the decision was made to withdraw Lada from the UK as well as other European markets and Canada on 4 July 1997. The Russians had tried to produce catalyst equipped cars (EU mandated from 1992) but could not get a reliable solution in place.

This car was also sold in New Zealand, where it was distributed by the New Zealand Dairy Board. The Dairy Board received the cars in lieu of cash payments for deliveries of mutton and butter to the Soviet Union. The last such trade was carried out in 1990.