Today, we focus our sights on the famous Russian company leader in the arms sector: Kalašhnikov, which is making its debut in the automotive world.
First, however, let’s do some history or rather, let’s mention the origins and the weapon that makes the manufacturer famous all over the world, to better understand its new production path.
We are towards the end of the Second World War, the engineer Michail Timofeevic Kalašhnikov designs the AK-47 assault rifle equipped with fire selector and gas operated, originally chambered for the 7.62 x 39 mm bullet; above all, the weapon replaces the obsolete PPSH submachine gun.
It is not the first of its kind with these characteristics, a similar rifle dates back to 1916, when Vladimir Grigor’evi? Fyodorov modifies one making it light and ready to fire, with the semi-automatic mechanism, later replaced by the new PPŠ-41 machine guns. There have been several early models of the AK-47, but none managed to deliver its performance on the battlefield.
Over the years, the brand becomes one of the major arms manufacturers and updates the arsenal with increasingly cutting-edge models.
So, the question arises, how did you get into the world of cars?
About eight years ago, day more or less, in 2013, after the bankruptcy, the group in the new structure broadened its horizons, precisely starting to produce robots and remote-controlled devices, always maintaining the manufacture of weapons.
In 2018, a twist: the zero-emission limousine with a design in perfect 70’s style, CV1, appears.
The following year two projects emerge, which apparently have only just now begun to move towards the procedures for approval.
Of course, the names of both vehicles wink at those of the rifles and are: Izh UV-3 or Ovum 2 with three wheels and IzhUV-4 or Ovum UV-4 with four wheels; we add that the latter from afar looks a lot like the famous Renault Twizy.
Their mission is to facilitate city traffic and contribute to the zero-impact mobility of the future.
All we know, given that the company is not yet unbalanced, the development platform is the UV-4, with four doors, four seats and measures of 3.4 meters, 1.5 wide and 1.7 in height.
Aesthetics are essential, from the first images you can see the fenders, which highlight and outline the metal and plastic bodywork, whose sides are open or equipped with simplified doors.
For performance, the data remained stable at those released in 2019, the quadricycle version is equipped with a 68 HP powertrain, with a range of about 150 km and on the scale weighing 650 kg.
Now, the Russian market is eagerly awaiting the debut of the vehicle and also the European one, given its size it falls within the category of heavy quadricycles and due to its characteristics it could conquer a significant slice of the market.
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