KIM-10

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KIM
Restored KIM-10-50 in a museum (2019)
Restored KIM-10-50 in a museum (2019)
KIM-10
Sales designation: КИМ-10
Production period: 1940-1941
Class : Small car
Body versions : Limousine , cabriolet
Engines: Otto engine :
1.2 liters (22 kW)
Length: 3943 mm
Width: 1430 mm
Height: 1600 mm
Wheelbase : 2386 mm
Empty weight : 840 kg
Previous model none
successor Moskvich-400

The KIM-10 ( Russian КИМ-10 ) is a small car from the Soviet manufacturer Moskowski Awtomobilny Sawod imeni KIM (Russian Московский автомобильный завод имени КИМ), which was built in series from 1940 to 1941. It was the attempt of the Soviet Union to create a vehicle similar to the KdF-Wagen for the broad mass of the population. The developers were heavily based on the Ford Prefect of 1938. Due to the Second World War, however, only 500 copies of the passenger car were made.

Vehicle history

Cabriolet KIM-10-51 (front) next to a KIM-10-50 in a Russian museum (2019)
Outwardly, the four-door version KIM-10-52 was already more similar to the successor Moskvich-400 (photographed 2014)
Soviet postage stamp with KIM-10 as a motif from 1975

In the mid to late 1930s, there was no small Soviet-made car that was affordable for the general public. The common passenger cars GAZ-M1 and ZIS-101 belonged to the middle and upper class and were accordingly expensive. A GAZ-M1 cost around 9,000 Soviet rubles , and a worker made an average of 340 rubles per month in 1940.

In order to keep production costs low, the designers initially wanted to orient themselves towards a German vehicle and, if possible, acquire a corresponding license. The prototype was the KdF car , which was sold for 990  Reichsmarks (which was equivalent to around 2100 Soviet rubles). However, Josef Stalin rejected the design with an air-cooled rear engine. The vehicle construction institute NATI looked for a different solution together with Gorkowski Awtomobilny Sawod (GAZ). Some vehicles were procured from Great Britain , including the last generation of the Austin 7 and the Ford Prefect from 1938. The latter eventually became the model for the new Soviet design.

The production was planned on a large scale. Since the GAZ plant was busy producing its own models, its Moscow assembly plant, the Moskovsky Avtosborotschny Sawod imeni KIM , was selected for the production of the small car. The plant should have produced 50,000 of the automobiles a year. For this purpose, the plant was rebuilt and also renamed, from the car assembly plant to the car plant (from 1939 on, Moskovsky Awtomobilny Sawod imeni KIM ). Three versions of the vehicle were planned:

  • KIM-10-50 - two-door sedan
  • KIM-10-51 - two-door convertible
  • KIM-10-52 - four-door sedan

The first prototype of the KIM-10 was completed on April 25, 1940. Series production began on schedule in 1941, but had to be stopped after just two months due to the outbreak of the German-Soviet war . In this way, only 500 copies of all versions were created, which were completely sold out within a short time. The entire plant was dismantled in Moscow in October 1941 and rebuilt behind the Urals . From then on, the company produced war goods for the Red Army . It was not until 1946 that the production of passenger cars in the Moscow plant was resumed with the Moskvich-400 .

Because of the small number of units, the vehicle is rare today, only four examples are known. In 1975, the Soviet Post dedicated a stamp to the KIM-10.

Technical specifications

The transmitted data of the KIM-10 fluctuate slightly depending on the source, in particular the external dimensions differ by a few millimeters. With a compression of 6.16: 1, the engine could have delivered 32 hp, but this would have required petrol with a knock resistance of at least 70  octane , otherwise there is a risk of auto-ignition too early. Since such “high-octane” fuel was poorly available, the compression and thus also the performance of the engine was slightly reduced.

  • Engine: four-cylinder gasoline engine
  • Power: 30 HP (22 kW) at 4000 min -1
  • Displacement: 1172 cm³
  • Bore: 63.5 mm
  • Stroke: 92.45 mm
  • Compression: 5.75: 1
  • Consumption: 7 to 8 l / 100 km
  • Gearbox: manual three-speed gearbox with reverse gear
  • Top speed: 90 km / h
  • Drive formula : 4 × 2 (rear wheel drive)

measures and weight

  • Length: 3943 mm
  • Width: 1430 mm
  • Height: 1600 mm
  • Wheelbase: 2386 mm
  • Tire size: 5.00-16 ″
  • Empty weight: 840 kg

literature

  • LM Shugurov: АВТОМОБИЛИ. России и СССР. First part. Ilbi / Prostreks, Moscow 1993, ISBN 5-87483-004-9 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e L. M. Shugurow: АВТОМОБИЛИ. России и СССР. First part, p. 100 ff.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h Detailed article on the KIM-10 with detailed images of the vehicle (Russian) ( Memento from February 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ History of the Moskvich Plant (Russian)

Web links

Commons : KIM-10  - collection of images, videos and audio files