Welcome again to the Parallel Universe of Motoring, this time with the help of Avito.ru classified board. This car is a perfect complement to this Studebaker, which has been rebuilt roughly in the same time frame.
This “unofficial restyle” of the Pobeda M-20 is claimed to be stylistically based on the American cars of the 1970s by the current owner, so (with some imagination) you can call it a Broughamified version of the Pobeda. To me it looks more like a 4-door version of the late 1970s Saab 96. The man who built it did the job better than the Polish designers from the FSO who created the Warszawa 223, if you ask me, but that’s of course subjective.
It’s those front fenders and that “teardrop” shape, but my first thought was Saab 96, also. Then I thought, perhaps 1972 Thunderbird “meets” early 50s Packard….those inverted bath tub shaped Packards.
In the U.S., this car and that Studebaker would be called “mild custom” cars but in Russia it’s called necessity.
Actually, I find it stylish. Obviously it is in need of a repaint. Robin egg blue, please! The proportions and lines are close to perfect.
If a 1950s GAZ M20 Pobeda and a 1970 Ford Thunderbird had a child, perhaps by an illicit affair across the Iron Curtain, it would look just like this car.
The combination of a Pobeda body with a Knudsen nose with quad headlights makes me think of Olga Korbut wearing a Barbara Streisand mask — not a pretty thought!
I immediately thought of the “Bunkie Beak” as well!
The grille and headlights look cribbed from a 67 Oldsmobile 88.
Nicely done adaptation as far as the metal work goes. Works better than a “professionally” built Zimmer.
Wow!
I really like it!
What a great project!
Very cool – just needs a paint job and some different wheels. Maybe red or black with some dog dish hubcaps.
As an austere modernization, it’s not far off from what Studebaker actually did to its 1953 sedan body, only cheaper!
I just think its cool that after all those decades of communist rule there are still good, old fashioned gearheads still in Russia!
+1!
There’s just something about the combination of a Bunkie Beak in front and a Fiat Ritmo rear bumper and taillights in back…
I see 1948-50 Packard DNA all over this car.
I think it’s quite “Fugly” myself. Then again,I’m more of a Mopar kinda guy. I’ve heard the old saying “Whatever floats your boat” but I think this “thing” probably would have been better off if it would have sunk in the harbor? I’m just sayin.
I’m just amazed that they found a wraparound rear windshield to fit that body!
It’s a customized Volvo PV44, from the 50s.It’s been converted to a 4 door.
No. It’s a GAZ M20 Pobeda. Pobeda’s are a lot more common in Russia than Volvos PVs, and converting a PV to four doors would be quite a task.
If it’s not part Volvo, it sure has a lot of similarities, like the hunchback, windshield and engine hood. I used to think those old Volvos used the same rear side windows as VW bugs.
In 1978 (the year of World Soccer Cup in Argentina) I had spent some time in Hungary which was then on the other side of the iron curtain. I can remember lots of these Pobedas and Warsawas rolling by the “Fellow Comrades” and their families. Notchbacks, Sedans and Estate Wagons. As a kid I liked then mostly the Warsawa 4-door sedan 🙂
Weird looking but appears well done , I hope it gets saved and refreshed instead of broken for parts .
One thing for sure ; no one else will ever have a car like this .
-nate
I think its a heavily disguised version of a Volvo PV544 ,which was only a 2 door. Soviets turned it into a 4 door with a very different front and rear clip, and fenders. But the profile matches a Volvo. The windshield is the same, and the front side windows look identical by the vent windows. The trunk looks almost the same.
See my reply to your earlier comment. It’s a GAZ Pobeda, not a Volvo. He even said so in the article.
To me there’ abit of Volvo PV544 and Peugeot 203 going on here, but given an introduction date of Nov 1946 (ref Wikipedia) then clearly no copying there. A quick look online shows no images with the full width rear window but it looks to be original. But, if not, where did that come form?
And you’re absolutely right – the Warszawa 223 was not that graceful
I do wonder where that rear window was sourced from, or if it was custom bent. It appears to match the squared shoulders of the roofline quite well. The inward taper of the front fenders and the square cut above the grille are well-crafted too. Whoever built this thing was good with metal work!
Peculiar overall but I do hope it finds a good home and gets needed repairs.
Before the internet era I had some ex-soviet colleagues on the university. We used to talk about CARS as well then. Among others some of them had mentioned then soviet kinda CUSTOMIZATIONS LIKE THIS ONE appearing in the current article. So here it is…