ZAZ 965 Zaporozhets
A tiny Soviet family car hid an unusual V-shaped engine behind its passengers.
1960 ZAZ-965 Zaporozhets · Shahriyor06 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Research pending
A matching completed auction sale has not been verified for this exact year, body, trim, engine, transmission and market.
Joyride shows this gap instead of substituting an asking price, unsold bid or mismatched special vehicle.
More than a set of wheels.
Production began in 1960 at Zaporizhzhia, in what is now Ukraine. A firsthand test of surviving body number 186 shows how different early cars were from later Zaporozhets models: small lamps, distinctive air inlets and even a hand lever to engage the starter.
Look a little closer.
The front and rear windows were interchangeable—a clever way to reduce the number of different parts.
Photos show an example of the model or generation. The pictured vehicle’s year, equipment, or modifications can differ from the specification described here.
Two handles before the journey
The tested early car has two small levers between the seats. One works the choke; the other mechanically engages the starter. It makes starting the car feel quite different from pressing a modern button.
Source: RBC Ukraine Auto · Firsthand test of surviving 1960 ZAZ-965, body 186 ↗Do not mix up 965 and 965A
A 1964 answer from the Zaporozhets warranty-service chief distinguishes the original 746 cc, 23 hp engine from the 965A’s 887 cc, 27 hp unit. It also records revised gearing and a key-operated starter for the newer version.
Source: Za Rulem · June 1964 technical answer by Zaporozhets warranty-service chief ↗Reading the compact ZAZ-965 instrument pod
The representative museum dashboard places the instruments in one compact pod ahead of the driver. A separate firsthand test of restored 1960 body 186 identifies just two pointer displays—road speed and fuel level—with the remaining functions assigned to warning lamps; it says an oil-temperature pointer arrived about two years later. The museum photo is model-level context, while body 186 is exact-year but restored, so neither source alone proves untouched factory equipment.
Source: RBC Ukraine Auto · Firsthand test of restored 1960 ZAZ-965, body 186 ↗The engine lives behind the cabin
A separate ZAZ-965 engine-bay photograph makes the rear-mounted MeMZ installation and prominent cooling fan visible. It confirms the model-level packaging, but the photographed survivor's year, service parts and restoration state are not documented.
Source: DL24 · ZAZ-965 engine bay, CC0 ↗Where these facts come from
- RBC Ukraine Auto · Firsthand test of surviving 1960 ZAZ-965, body 186
- Za Rulem · June 1964 technical answer by Zaporozhets warranty-service chief
- 360 Car Museum · ZAZ-965 exhibit history
- Wikimedia Commons · ZAZ-965 dashboard and cabin
- Wikimedia Commons · ZAZ-965 engine bay
Selected facts checked for this edition. Some source pages link to broader model families. Last reviewed September 30, 2026.