You can and should write about this machine only with a capital letter. ZIL-41041 - not just a car - it is a symbol of an era. Its development took place during the great confrontation in the Cold War. He was a model of mechanical engineering in the Soviet country, and he also witnessed its collapse.
The car was not assembled, it was not passed through the conveyor, but it was built like a ship in a shipyard. In 1986, the legendary ZIL-41047 was rightfully considered the heaviest and longest production limousine in the world. His V-shaped eight-cylinder engine with a displacement of 7695 cm3 accelerated more than 3 tons to 190 km / h in just 13 seconds. Agree, excellent performance for that time. Of course, this premium car was not sold for private use. It was available only to the top leadership of the Politburo. All other high-ranking officials were supposed to have a GAZ-14 Chaika car.
Until the beginning of the 90s, the secrecy stamp was on the production documentation of ZIL-41041 machines. And cars that ran 100,000 km or more were subject to disposal. Each ZIL machine that escaped destruction had its own difficult fate ...
A bit of history
AT In 1985, the first ZIL-41047 limousine was built, which replaced the ZIL-41045 car. The designers made the twin headlights rectangular, increased the radiator grill, and replaced the taillights. On the passenger and driver’s doors, the hinged windows were removed. In the period from 1976 to 1983, ZIL-4104 with various modifications was produced, then from 1983 to 1985 the model ZIL-41045 was released. It was distinguished by a round shape of headlights and a number of other technical characteristics. 41047 was the largest and heaviest limousine of the time.
Performed according to classical canons with a body on a side member frame, with independent suspension of the front wheels, it had a length of about 6330 mm, a height of 1500 mm and a wheelbase of 3880 mm,
ground clearance was 170 mm. The car could not be turned over. Even with the sharpest steering turn at high speed, the car did not lose stability. Up to 1991, the first person in the state - President Mikhail Gorbachev - relied on an armored ZIL of an elongated model, whose weight was 6 tons. The size of the armor reached 7.5 cm.
A powerful 8-cylinder power unit with a total volume of 7 liters consumed more than 23 liters of high-octane gasoline per hundred kilometers.
Closed production
Cars ZIL-41041 were built only in closed automobile enterprises, which belonged to the 9th Directorate of the KGB of the USSR. The multi-page manual for the use and maintenance of the machine remains in a few copies, which are now as rare as the machines themselves. The whole process of building a car was carried out manually. The body base was a heavy welded frame. Its original design provided the machine with incredible super stability. The car had a front independent linkage, telescopic shock absorbers, and a stability stabilizer.
Body ZIL-41041
The limousine type was created by all-metal, welded, four-door. He possessed three rows of seats, as well as a special auditory septum, which separated the driver and security guard from the passenger compartment with high-ranking people. Salon in the basic configuration contained seven seats. The front seats were finished with expensive leather, the rear - with high-quality velor. The basic version assumed full power. The salon of the limousine was like a museum of furniture art. Window frames, doors, front panel - all this was trimmed with natural wood. And the air cooling system consisted of two independent air conditioning units.
The car is not for everyone
Interestingly, the limo body was made manually. Masters of a rare profession - vykolodchiki involved in the production of parts of small series, created doors, fenders, roof, hood and trunk lid. After that, all these elements were meticulously mounted in the car body, individually adjusted to each other. When the limo was ready, it was covered with paint using a complex multi-stage process. It included the application of 9 to 15 layers of paint. Each layer was polished and dried. Almost all the nodes of the limousine were original designs and had no analogues. ZIL was then and remains now a machine for the elite.