Wolga 24-10

Saturday 23 October 2010
In 1982 GAZ introduced the third generation of the Volga the GAZ-3102. However this car was limited to the public and production of the old series continued, lacking a suitable replacement GAZ undertook a deep upgrade of the -24, utilising many of the -3102 features. This resulted in an entirely new car, which was produced right up to the early 1990s.
Externally the changes affected the new model losing nearly all of its chromed detail via a new plastic grill, new "sunken" door handles. The front door windows no longer had corner leafs, whilst new plastic wing mirrors were now featured on both driver and passenger sides. Inside the old ZMZ-24 was replaced with a derived ZMZ-402 engine, which introduced a new carburator and cooling mechanism allowing a 98 hp output (from 85 hp on the -24). The 24-10 received a new suspension which allowed for larger wheels, with a new rim as standard and also had a new set of vacuum amplified brakes. Some of the cars were fitted with disk brakes from the -3102. Inside the car received a completely new interior, based on the foreign models of the 1980s, including dashboard controls and headrests on seats. Like the base -24 the car had several modifications including an estate GAZ-24-12 introduced in 1987, and a low-production V8 powered GAZ-24-34.
The most significant impact of the car was that unlike the -3102 which was sold primarily for state institutions and corporations, the GAZ-24-10 was exactly opposite, which meant that many private owners wishing for a mid-size car could now acquire one with relative ease. However on the whole, even at its introduction the car was very out of date compared with its western rivals and production ceased in 1992. According to GAZ 1,481,561 cars of the -24 series were produced from 1970 until 1992 making it the highest in history of the plant.

Technical data:
- engine: 4 cylinders
- capacity: 2445 cc
- horsepower: 100 HP
- gearbox: 4+1
- top speed: 147 km/h