"Volga 2410" - greatness from the past

To create a car that would replace the quickly obsolete "twenty-first" model, at the Gorky Automobile Plant they tried literally right after the start of the latter's release. The car experienced three effective restyling, but despite this, in the late seventies was considered morally obsolete. It's no secret that the specialists of GAZ in the late sixties adopted a course of orientation to the American style of design, and therefore it is not surprising that the first sketches depicting the Volga 2410 really reminded the forms of the then popular in America extended long cars with huge tail keels.

However, fashion at that time was changing very quickly, and even a three-year car was considered obsolete. Such a style would soon become irrelevant, and at the Soviet plant could not afford to create new models year after year, so it was decided to form a more universal car that would have been in demand for many more years. Designers created several models, trying on their offspring, some spectacular elements from the world auto company, and in the end, as a result of a huge work done, appeared the image of the future favorite of the whole country - the car "Volga 2410".

The next task, which designers had to solve, was to make the representative sedan of impressive dimensions and the same mass dynamic. Of course, it was possible to implement the task only due to the powerful engine. Two variants were considered: a 2.5-liter one based on GAZ-21 and a new 3-liter engine. However, due to the growth in oil prices in the seventies, it was decided to stop on the first option.

The mechanical transmission was originally intended only for taxi cars, but due to the same fuel economy for the Volga 2410 model, the 4-speed mechanics remained the only option.

1967 was marked by a major strategic error of Autoexport, which before the time began the advertising campaign of the new model, which did not come out at that time even with an experimental run. As a result, the sales of the "twenty-first" fell sharply in the country, for ordinary people the object of dreams was now "Volga 2410", and not its morally outdated predecessor. Business also did not stick to exports. In advertising for foreign consumers, the trade department made an emphasis on tuning the GAZ-2410 Volga in the form of a comfortable saloon, good dynamics, a built-in fm receiver and a metallic paint, but this was not enough for the sophisticated European consumer, and considering the class of the car and Its price, the car was not popular abroad (with the possible exception of Finland and Scandinavia, where the level of comfort had its own ideas). Judging from the publications in Western European magazines of past years, "Volga 2410" (tuning performed by local craftsmen) was often modified or radically modified. So, for example, you can find versions with a diesel engine or right-hand drive.

Today, the "twenty-fourth" is less and less common on the roads of a modern big city. The remaining copies are most often used in the provinces or replenish domestic and foreign collections, but in a completely different form.