√Lada Niva to reach its 50th anniversary with a new engine and ‘Sport’ model

The venerable Russian off-roader is set to celebrate a half-century in style.

The Lada Niva is one of the world’s oldest cars still in production. The first example of the Russian off-roader rolled off the assembly line on 5 April 1977, and some three million largely unchanged cars later, it is still being built and sells reasonably well in its home market.

In June 2023, 3135 Niva Legend models were sold in Russia – more than the number of Toyota RAV4s sold here in June (2858).

This popularity has contributed to Lada’s parent company AutoVAZ confirming the classic Niva will continue to be produced up to its 50th anniversary in 2027.

In an interview with Russian newspaper Kommersant, AutoVAZ CEO Maxim Sokolov said the “Niva will definitely reach its half-century anniversary”, and will do so very much as it was originally devised, back in the 1970s.

“It is clear that we will not produce Niva Legend with an automatic transmission”, said Mr Sokolov, adding that he has personally owned a Niva for 25 years.

“This means a very cool car, designed for many years, and today it has also gained a second wind, is popular, its sales are growing.”

As to what to expect for a 50-year Niva, Mr Sokolov said: “Of course, we are updating it: we are not only doing external restyling, but next year we will put a new, modern engine, more powerful, high-torque.”

The report notes the current 61kW/129Nm 1.7-litre four-cylinder petrol engine will be replaced with a 1.6-litre unit ‘turned around’.

While not specifically referenced, it is suspected this is the 78kW/148Nm 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine currently used in a different configuration in the Lada Vesta city-car range in Russia, but rotated to fit under the Niva’s stubby forward-hinged bonnet.

Mr Solokov said the range would also expand: “Let’s make a sports modification ‘Niva Sport’ [model grade, with] a 16-valve engine with a capacity of 122hp [91kW]”.

This would almost double the original Niva’s 56kW output, representing the first factory twin-cam engine ever applied to the little 4×4.

The Lada Niva was sold in Australia between 1983 and 1998.

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