Tachanki: Russian Technology In Garages Of World Celebrities

2023 Author: Natalie MacDonald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 02:36

Toast "zzdorovye!" with an American accent, the hit "Chernobyl" on HBO, Elon Musk's tweets in Cyrillic - the attributes of Russian life do not lose their relevance abroad. It's the same with cars. It's nice to meet a Japanese driving a Niva, or a Cuban driving a vintage Moskvich. But it's much cooler to find out that a world celebrity suddenly owns a domestic car or motorcycle. Yes, Russian cars can be liked by those whom the whole planet loves - and here are six striking proofs.

Jay Leno and his GAZ-21

The world famous collector and showman lit his "Volga" back in 2013. Later, at the Jay Leno’s Garage show, Jay said that the milky-white GAZ-21 of 1966 went to him in pristine condition, with original tires and a low mileage of 2360 kilometers. Despite occasional references to the KGB and Soviet "catch-up" theme, the "twenty-first" Volga from Leno's garage is quite an ordinary sedan, except for its perfect condition and complete completeness.

Under the hood of an unrestored (according to Leno) car stands a 2.5-liter aluminum "four" ZMZ in export force "21D" with a capacity of 95 horsepower, docked with a three-speed manual gearbox with steering shaft control. No "automatic machines", no surprises in the equipment.

According to Jay, the Soviet "alternative" to Buicks, Fords and Oldsmobiles impressed him with its reliability and corrosion resistance. In comparison with the Ford Galaxie of that time, whose body began to bloom after a couple of years, the "Russian tank" retained its factory luster.

Ralf Schumacher and his Lad4 × 4

Perhaps not a single Soviet car has received so much world love as the Niva. The unpretentious Russian four-wheel drive continues to be exported and consistently finds fans in European countries. One of these, more recently, was Michael Schumacher's brother Ralph. Retired from Formula 1 and DTM racing, the pilot found his calling in the restaurant business and now owns his own winery. He decided to buy a Russian SUV out of the need to have a hardy car for towing a massive trailer with Schumacher Wines.

Judging by Schumacher's Instagram, Lada was chosen because of its reliability, price and special character. However, the car still received several additional options: from LED optics and steel footpegs to a winch, toothy tires and an expeditionary roof rack. Which of the above is really necessary for a tug car is a question, but the image of a "cool Russian car" only strengthened from this.

In Germany, the classic Niva remains the most affordable four-wheel drive car. With a price of 11,990 euros (a little more than 932,000 rubles), it is as much as eight thousand cheaper than the Japanese "baby" Suzuki Jimny.

Tom Hanks and "his" Loaf

It all started with a photo on social networks, where a Californian actor poses in shorts at a battered UAZ-452 in camouflage. Everything looked great. In a caption to an Instagram post, Hanks ironically bragged about the acquisition. The audience immediately picked up the event and began to comment on such a strange purchase. Although it was hardly about her: the picture with the "loaf" on the Hungarian plates was taken in Europe, and in addition, advertising stickers of a local clothing salon are visible on the sides of an SUV parked by the side of the road.

This is not the first time Hanks has done such tricks with spontaneously purchased cars on his social networks. If you take every such purchase at face value, then in the 63-year-old joker's garage there should already be several rotten Jankyard Cadillacs, a Piaggio cargo tricycle and a quartet of little Fiats, including the Polish Fiat 126, like our recent guest Mat Watson. Where with such a fleet of vehicles to put a family Range Rover or a square van Scion xB is a big question.

Kimi Raikkonen and his VAZ

Who would have thought that a bright red Soviet Lada stood at the origins of the 40-year-old Finn's motorsport career. Export Zhiguli was Kimi's first car. The "free and very reliable" sedan came from a friend of my mother and was in possession for quite a long time. In several interviews, Raikkonen recalled that the Lada did not break down, although at first he and his father replaced the engine, and soon repainted the body - from the Russian "analogue" of the Rosso Cors shade to a strict black color. However, no one was going to take care of the car. According to the racer's recollections, he crashed somewhere all the time, which is quite normal considering the Finnish winters. Perhaps a series of these teenage accidents in a cheap Russian car and tempered the character of the future "Iceman".

Brad Pitt, Ewan McGregor and their Urals

Among everything that is actively exported, Ural motorcycles, perhaps, appeal more to national pride. Over 80 years of production, the Irbit tricycle with a sidecar-cradle and optional all-wheel drive has changed a lot. The archaic suspension was replaced by advanced shock absorbers, brakes, electrics and equipment were updated - and most importantly, "Russian Harley-Davidson" has turned into a stylish and very expensive brand, which requires an impressive amount of money to get to know. For example, in the States, prices for Ural start at $ 15,550 (1.1 million rubles), and for $ 25,000 (1.8 million rubles) you can become the owner of a limited edition special version with expensive leather trim, a set of sleeping bags for a small expedition, stylized under the canister with a vodka bar or, for example, a DJI drone in a special case.

After this, it is not particularly surprising that a black three-wheeler in the "Tourist" version appeared in Brad Pitt's extensive motorcycle collection in 2012. And among Ewan McGregor's weekend tech, there was a place for one of 25 copies of Ural in the Dark Force special series in honor of the release of Star Wars. Each bike of the 2015 model was completed with a dummy lightsaber, and the entire circulation was promoted under the slogan: “Go to the dark side. We have strollers."

James Hetfield and his K-750

Metallic fans are familiar with the longtime passion of its frontman. James Hetfield willingly devotes his free time from concerts and music to cars and their tuning. Moreover, he is often not averse to grabbing the welding machine or screwing everything that is poorly fixed on his own.

However, the appearance of the Soviet motorcycle K-750 in Hat's garage has nothing to do with his personal preferences: the bike was presented to the musician by Russian fans. It is curious that the year of production of the 25-horsepower tricycle coincides with the year of birth of the Metallica leader. The 1963 device was brought to its original state, several commemorative engravings were applied, and the metal surfaces were decorated in the style of Hatfield's signature instruments. After the restoration, the gift was shipped across the ocean and personally presented to James.