GAZ-64
The GAZ-64 was a 4x4 vehicle made by GAZ, succeeding the earlier GAZ-61. Its design was led by Vitaliy Grachev. The design process was exceptionally quick, taking only a few weeks.
Design
The curb weight of the car was. It was powered by a 3285 cc, inline-4 engine giving and a top speed of. It was produced using existing commercially available parts. As such, it was based on a shortened GAZ-61 chassis, while the engine came from the GAZ-MM truck.Development
The GAZ-64 was developed from a requirement developed during the 1939-1940 war between the Soviet Union and Finland. Although it appears outwardly similar to the American Bantam / Willys jeep, it was developed using parts already commercially available in the Soviet Union, and built in a plant that was originally set up with Ford.It was designed to replace the earlier GAZ-61, which was totally reconstructed in a very short period under the leadership of Vitaly Grachev to create a 4×4 jeep, which was named the GAZ-64. During WWII, it was succeeded by the more successful GAZ-67 and GAZ-67B. The GAZ-64 and GAZ-67 formed the basis for the BA-64 armoured cars.
Production
646 GAZ-64s were made between March 1941 and summer 1942 by the GAZ or Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod company. The name translates as the Gorky automobile plant, and the factory was originally a cooperation between the company Ford and the Soviet Union.Due to the availability of American made jeeps provided by the American Lend-Lease program, the majority of wartime production of the GAZ-64 was dedicated to the BA-64 armored cars. Due to GAZ-64 production being tied to BA-64 production, only around 2,500 regular units were produced during the war. Post-war production increased greatly, and more than 90,000 GAZ-67Bs were produced by the time production ended in 1953.