GAZ-52

The GAZ-52 was a Soviet medium-duty truck with a load capacity of 2.5 tonnes, built by the Gorky Automobile Plant from 1964 until the middle of 1993, with 1,006,330 units produced. It was developed in 1962 and 1963 as a hybrid that put the engine of the GAZ-51, then the most common Soviet truck, into the cab and parts of the new GAZ-53. Its in-line six-cylinder carburettor engine descended from the pre-war GAZ-11 unit and ran on A-72 petrol, whereas the GAZ-53 had a V8, and it kept the wheels and tyres of the GAZ-51. Because it shared the GAZ-53 cab, the two are often hard to tell apart. Long-wheelbase versions with a 3,700 millimetre base served as chassis for vans and tankers, and short-wheelbase versions with a 3,300 millimetre base included the base flatbed and the chassis for dump trucks. The GAZ-51 stayed in production alongside it until 1975. After 1993 the GAZelle and Valdai took over its market niche.