Aleko

The Moskvitch 2141, commonly referred tae as simply Aleko (Roushie: "АЛЕКО", derivative frae factory name "Автомобильный завод имени Ленинского Комсомола", Aftomobilnyi zavod imeni Leninskogo Komsomola, meanin "Automotive Factory o Lenin's Komsomol"), is a Roushie mid-size hatchback caur that wis first annoonced in 1985 an manufacturt tae maistly the Eastren Bloc kintras atween 1986 an 2000 (gradually replaced in 2001 bi its sedan body version, Moskvitch 2142, that niver wis produced in lairge quantities an that warldwide sales wisna even stairted) bi the nou bankrupt Moskvitch Stock Company, based in Moscow, Roushie.

Aleko wis a huge improvement ower previous Moskvitch models, whit wur dependable but auld-farrant saloons an station wagons (estates) wi rear-wheel drive an a solid rear axle. In fact, Aleko haed nae common pairts wi previous models apairt frae the ingine an some ither minor details an pairts.

For Moskvitch, Aleko wis innovative, haein front-wheel drive, a hatchback body style, McPherson strut front suspension an torsion-crank rear suspension. The wheelbase went up amaist 20 centimetres (7.9 in), the body got 14 centimetres (5.5 in) braider, the wheel size went up ae inch (14 inches). The caur became mair spacious, comfortable an safe. For the first time in the history o Roushie caur makkin, the caur's profile wis optimised for aerodynamics, wi the help o Roushie an French aircraft an space ingineers. The offeecially reportit bi factory drag coefficient is 0.35.

The caur originatit as a front-wheel drive "proof o concept", based on foreign models. In the late 1970s Moskvitch bocht aboot twa dozen compact caurs biggit bi unalike manufacturers, an thoroughly testit thaim. French an Swadish caurs wur favoured for thair utility an reliability. The final decision wis made bi the Meenister o Automobile Industry, wha surprisingly for the factory chose the French Simca 1307 as the best candidate for the Roushie mercat.

Ingineers modified an existin Moskvitch ingine for front-wheel drive layoot an fittit the drivetrain intae the Simca. For this an Audi 100 as a model caur wis uised (http://www.my-azlk.ru/m2141xr.php Archived 2009-07-25 at the Wayback Machine). Efter the tests wur successfully completed, it wis decidit bi the rights tae copy the Simca 1307 bodyshell amaist entirely, startin from the A-pillar. While this decision helped to cut the development costs, it came as an insult to engineers and designers, who had their own mock-ups of future car ready. The morale o the staff haed been damaged, an Aleko niver became a beloved project amang Moskvitch ingineers (testimony bi the Chief Designer o the Moskvitch Stock Company at the time, Igor Zaitsev. Autoreview, 2002, #5 Archived 2008-09-14 at the Wayback Machine, in Russian)

The existin ingine wis too lang for transverse placement, so it wis placed longitudinally, like on the Audi 80/100 series. Mony ideas an design decisions wur borrowed frae Audi caurs (which anes wur bought intae factory an aa), includin torsion-crank rear suspension, McPherson strut front suspension, rack-an-pinion steerin an a collapsible steerin column. The spare tyre wis locatit unnerneath the buit an wis accessible frae ootside, in the tradition o French caurs. As wi Audis, zinc coatin o doors an body floor wis an aa planned, but it wis actually done ae for sma quantity o the caurs.

Despite "seicont-hand" stylin an design, the Aleko turned oot tae be quite a breakthrough for the Roushie automotive industry. Its body deisign wis modern compared tae the obsolete lookin "angular" Lada Samara. It amaist became the first production front-wheel drive caur o Roushie, but efter development it took a further twa years for Moskvitch tae setup the manufacturin, an the Lada Samara arrived first. Despite the better an mair comfortable design frae Samara the ver law assamblin quality o Aleko resultit tae a low reputation o this caur in the mercats. The positive features o this caur wur robustnes o construction, handyness in repairin wirks. Aleko haes hie "aff-road" drivin capabilities an aa.

Comparison between body design of the Simca 1307 (black) and the Aleko (red)

Aleko wis sauld maistly on the domestic mercat, but in the late 1980s it wis exportit too. In some export mercats, includin Fraunce & Germany, the caurs wur advertised as the Lada Aleko, an diesel ingines frae Ford an Indenor coud be delivered in addition tae the standard petrol ingines.

Some o the laist Moskvitch models tae be biggit wur the somewha upgradit Aleko that wis renamed tae Svjatogor (models M-214122, M-214100, M-214145) an the M-2142, Dolgorukij, (1997–2002), wur an aa based on the design o M-2141.