Lada Riva 1.5E Estate - 1996
Sold for £ 1.500
The Jaguar Land-Rover Collection
Brightwells Auctions
Bicester Heritage
Buckingham Road
Bicester
Oxfordshire
England
March 2018
“Lonely 22 year-old Russian beauty seeking Western lover”. Ah, how many times we have all answered those emails only, ultimately, to be disappointed. However, in this case, what you see is what you get and no strings attached.
Based, as everyone knows, on the mighty Fiat 124, the Lada Riva stood at the very pinnacle of Russian automotive excellence. In production in one form or another for over 40 years no-one is sure how many were made (state secret), but it’s believed the figure exceeds 40.000.000.
It’s not hard to see their appeal: rugged, good-looking in a square box sort of way, roomy – especially in the Estate format, like this one – and easy to fix……..(go on, say it). Sadly the lazy, decadent West didn’t take them to heart, although they did sell well in Canada and New Zealand, oddly enough.
This 1996 Lada is an odd mixture: 1960s styling, 1970s interior, 1990s production – you can’t get all that even in a Morgan (and you would have to pay a lot more), and this is a much more practical consideration. Where else can you find a low-mileage, relatively modern, rear-wheel drive Estate with little in the way of electronics? It gets more appealing by the minute.
P406 KTR is as close as you are likely to get to finding a new Riva – the DVLA tells us that it has not yet had it first MOT! Those 4.200 miles on the clock could be genuine. The basic condition of the car would suggest this too, but some attention will be needed to get it back into showroom condition. And it’s a very brave man who would drive a car that has been off the road for so long without giving it a jolly good servicing (Russian beauties like that sort of thing).
Lada Riva 1.5E Estate - 1996
Sold for £ 1.500
The Jaguar Land-Rover Collection
Brightwells Auctions
Bicester Heritage
Buckingham Road
Bicester
Oxfordshire
England
March 2018
“Lonely 22 year-old Russian beauty seeking Western lover”. Ah, how many times we have all answered those emails only, ultimately, to be disappointed. However, in this case, what you see is what you get and no strings attached.
Based, as everyone knows, on the mighty Fiat 124, the Lada Riva stood at the very pinnacle of Russian automotive excellence. In production in one form or another for over 40 years no-one is sure how many were made (state secret), but it’s believed the figure exceeds 40.000.000.
It’s not hard to see their appeal: rugged, good-looking in a square box sort of way, roomy – especially in the Estate format, like this one – and easy to fix……..(go on, say it). Sadly the lazy, decadent West didn’t take them to heart, although they did sell well in Canada and New Zealand, oddly enough.
This 1996 Lada is an odd mixture: 1960s styling, 1970s interior, 1990s production – you can’t get all that even in a Morgan (and you would have to pay a lot more), and this is a much more practical consideration. Where else can you find a low-mileage, relatively modern, rear-wheel drive Estate with little in the way of electronics? It gets more appealing by the minute.
P406 KTR is as close as you are likely to get to finding a new Riva – the DVLA tells us that it has not yet had it first MOT! Those 4.200 miles on the clock could be genuine. The basic condition of the car would suggest this too, but some attention will be needed to get it back into showroom condition. And it’s a very brave man who would drive a car that has been off the road for so long without giving it a jolly good servicing (Russian beauties like that sort of thing).