Moskvich-408 Tourist: a missed opportunity for the Soviet automobile industry (6 photos)

The year 1964 in the Soviet Union was marked by the release of the serial Moskvich-408 sedan, but few people know that at the same time, designer A. Veselov developed a model of the elegant coupe-cabriolet Moskvich-408 Tourist, which was released in only two copies and was forgotten. thanks to the success of his older brother.

The chassis and some body parts of the Tourist were borrowed from the 408 model, but otherwise the cars were completely different. Firstly, the Tourist received a 1.4-liter engine with a power of 63 horsepower, which was achieved thanks to electronic fuel injection, innovative at that time. The coupe-convertible accelerated to hundreds in 24 seconds, and the maximum speed reached 130 km/h.

An obvious advantage compared to serial models was that the Tourist had an aluminum body, which significantly reduced the weight of the car. To improve the rigidity of the hull, an X-shaped cross member was located under the bottom.

One of the disadvantages of the Moskvich-408 Tourist, compared to foreign competitors, was the lack of an automatic roof. The plastic top had to be installed manually, and not without the help of a neighbor. And it would have to be stored exclusively in the garage, since such a huge thing would definitely not fit in the trunk.

The interior of the Tourist was typical of the sixties, both ours and foreign ones. The dashboard was made of metal and painted in body color. The interior, according to tradition, was trimmed with red leatherette.

Thanks to the rectangular roof and low slope of the windows, the usable volume in the car with the top on was significantly higher than that of the production model, but the width of the body, unfortunately, remained the same.

If the car were put into production, it would affect the development of the domestic automobile industry as a whole. A new direction would have opened up for him and perhaps now competitive coupes made in Russia would be flashing on the market, but, alas. Due to the busy conveyor belts mending the 408 sedan, neither the original coupe nor the innovative electronic fuel injection system had a chance for a bright future. Prototypes of Moskvich-408 Tourist have not survived, only black and white photographs of sample No. 00-62 remain