Moskvitch 400/401 History
The Soviet Union's first mass-produced private car — an Opel Kadett-derived compact that rolled out of Moscow in December 1946.
Photo: “1951 Moskvitch 400” by Rutger van der Maar / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0. Cropped to 16:9.
History
The Moskvitch 400-420 was the first mass-produced automobile intended for private ownership in the USSR, built by the newly renamed MZMA factory (Moscow Plant of Small Cars) from December 9, 1946. Its design was adapted from the pre-war Opel Kadett K38 using captured German tooling brought to Moscow as war reparations, though the Soviet engineers modified the body to a four-door configuration on Stalin's directive.
Powered by a 1,074 cc side-valve inline-four making 23 hp, the 400-series was basic but durable. An improved Moskvitch 401 arrived in 1954 with a marginally uprated engine (26 hp, higher compression) and continued until 1956. In total, 247,439 examples of the 400 and 401 were built, establishing Moskvitch as the Soviet marque for ordinary citizens.
Generations
First generation (400-420) · Opel-derived original
Photo: “1951 Moskvitch 400” by Rutger van der Maar / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0. Cropped to 16:9.
1,074 cc side-valve sedan; four-door body based on Opel Kadett K38 tooling; 23 hp; the USSR's first private-ownership car.
1951 Photo: “1951 Moskvitch 400” by Rutger van der Maar / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Second generation (401) · Uprated 401
Photo: “Moskvich 401 in Museum of technique 2016-08-16” by Mike1979 Russia / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Mechanical refresh raising compression to 6.2:1 and output to 26 hp; styling otherwise unchanged.
Body styles
- Sedan
- Wagon
Related models
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