AZLK Moskvitch Moskvitch 412 (diecast 1:43, Agat)

This is Moskvitch 412. The model is made by Agat after the Fall of The Soviet Union in scale 1:43. It has suspension, opening hood and a soviet luggage rack on the roof.
The Moskvich 412 is a 4-door saloon car, which was produced at the Moscow plant of small cars in the period from 1967 to 1997. Production then continued at the Izhevsk Automobile Plant – until 2001.

This model was built under both Soviet and Russian governments and was based upon the Moskvitch 408 which had already been in production since 1964 . A key difference between the two was the engine. The 408 had a 1357cc engine developed from that used in the earlier Moskvitch cars whereas the 412 had a new 1500cc OHC engine offering considerably better performance. It was similar in some ways to the contemporary BMW 1500cc engine and allegations of copying have often been made though the engines differ in significant ways. It is more likely to have been influenced by the BMW engine rather than being directly copied. It also had hydraulic power assisted braking, unlike the 408, and attention was paid to meeting safety stands in key Western export markets and it was crash tested in France to give more confidence to importers. By 1969 a series of minor changes had been made and pressing changes to fit a larger radiator had been incorporated in 408 and 412 builds. Inside the car attention was paid to providing padded crash protection areas, up to date and capable seat belts, and a collapsible steering column. The gearbox remined the same four speed unit as the 408 which meant that the additional strain from the bigger and more powerful engine sometimes lead to reliability issues.

Visually the 412 could be easily separated from the 408 as, apart from a short period of early production, it had rectangular front lights and not round ones. The indicators and side lights also became a vertical strip at the front corners. Variants were produced with front bucket seats rather than a bench seat especially for the export market.

Handling was not a strong feature of this car as it had a high ride height which was good on rough roads but encouraged roll and instability at speed on tarmac. The crude rear springs also gave it a less than comfortable ride quality.

The 408 and 412 were very popular in the Soviet Union and Russia as they sold for less than the AvtoVaz cars but were a similar size and carrying capacity.

Both 408 and 412 were eventually replaced by the modestly re-styled Moskvitch-2140/2138.

The 408 and 412 were very popular in the Soviet Union and Russia as they sold for less than the AvtoVaz cars but were a similar size and carrying capacity.

Despite the dubious handling the Moskvitch 412/1500 was widely rallied and was used for circuit racing too. The free revving OHC engine unit allowed brisk acceleration. The cars toughness was shown when all four 412 entrants to the 1968 London-Sydney Marathon completed the rally giving the team 4th place. Three out of five 412 crews finished the gruelling 1970 London-Mexico Super Marathon winning bronze medal for the team effort with the highest placed 412 ending 12th overall. At the Spa 24 Hours in 1971 the 412 took fifth and sixth place in their class; a creditable performance. A European tour win in 1974 was pretty much the last successful outing for Moskvitch as the AvtoVaz 2101 offered better performance and handling.

As Lada exports to Western countries grew the Moskvitch was quietly dropped, though a few Alekos were sold in France and Germany using western produced engines they did not sell well and never made their way to the UK.