LuAZ-967M Auto Legends of the USSR

The unusual LuAZ-967 was commissioned by the military as a front-line transporter. It had to climb gradients of up to 30 degrees, have four-wheel drive, travel at 1.5–70 km/h, carry two stretchers or six seated casualties, provide at least 30 cm of ground clearance and cross water obstacles. Boris Fitterman received the design assignment from Andrei Lipgart, head of NAMI’s design department.

In 1969 the country’s leadership approved production of the light military all-terrain vehicle, but manufacturing problems repeatedly delayed the launch and it did not enter series production. Only in 1975 did civilian LuAZ-967Ms begin leaving the line, with a 1,198 cc MeMZ-968 engine producing 40 hp. Production continued until the late 1980s.

The LuAZ-967M could be steered while lying prone, with the backrest of the centrally positioned driver’s seat folded down. Unlike the military version, the civilian model had a folding windscreen. A front winch driven from the crankshaft nose could pull casualties aboard on the supplied plastic drag stretcher.