GAZ-M1 — Auto Legends of the USSR

The GAZ-M1 was developed by the talented engineer Andrei Alexandrovich Lipgart, appointed GAZ’s chief designer in 1933. Popularly nicknamed the “Emka”, the car was created specifically for party officials, members of the nomenklatura and personnel of the security agencies. The first production car left the assembly line in 1936, while the first examples had been assembled as early as 1934.

One of the first GAZ-M1 owners was Alexei Stakhanov, the record-setting coal miner whom the author describes as a victim of the socialist drive for quantity. According to official figures, a total of 62,888 cars were built. Production of the basic 50 hp “Emka” ended in 1941, although individual cars continued to be assembled from leftover parts for another couple of years.