Photo: BaT User: hargittai
We're huge fans of old-school claptrap cars from now-defunct communist countries. If for no other reason than the cars built in these places are a lens through which to view what life was like there before the Iron Curtain fell three decades ago. For this reason, this 1988 Lada 2105 swapped with a Toyota 2JZ engine is like Mikhail Gorbachev on four wheels. It's the same certified Soviet face we all know, but with internals that show a longing to be taken seriously by the West.
Ham-fisted analogies between custom cars and now-deceased global leaders aside, there's something eternally endearing about such a timeless classic Japanese drivetrain stuck under the hood of a communist Lada that's only ever been a joke outside of the former USSR and its ex-satellite states. According to its official Bring a Trailer listing, this Lada 2105 sedan was imported to the United States from Eastern Europe back in 2016. In its day, the 2105, known as the Riva in Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, left the factory with any number of pitiful, anemic four-cylinder engines ranging from 1.2 to 1.7 liters.
Safe to say, the three-liter Toyota 2JZ-GTE straight six under the hood of this restomod Lada blows anything it could have had stock out of the water. But there's more on offer here than just a stock 2JZ in a rickety Soviet chassis. Extra goodies include a Garrett ball-bearing turbocharger with a TiAL wastegate, a custom tubular exhaust manifold, and an electric power steering system. You know, to replace this Lada's old power steering system, a large pair of strong Soviet hands. The engine is paired with a Nissan CD009 six-speed manual gearbox out of a mid-2000s 350Z, and a Ford 8.8-inch rear end sure up the back end of the vehicle.
So then, an ex-Soviet chassis with a Japanese drivetrain and all-American hardware in the rear end. It's like the United Nations of auto parts under the skin of this Lada. It doesn't end there. With aftermarket front control arms and dampeners, four-wheel disk brakes all around, and a lowered performance suspension, this Lada carves corners with the same ferocity as Western sports cars. Thanks to a full roll cage and fire-suppression system, OMP racing seats with full harnesses, and a racing-style acrylic window, this old Lada is ready to take on the North American autocross scene with a fervor you'd never expect from a formerly anemic and laughably horrible Soviet automobile.
Add on the wicked fender flares, a fresh coat of white paint, and some awesome Enkei RPF1 17-inch alloy wheels, and suddenly, this Lada Riva isn't so easy to make fun of anymore. Well, that's an exaggeration. We can still rag on it all day but in a more lighthearted tone this time around.
Safe to say, the three-liter Toyota 2JZ-GTE straight six under the hood of this restomod Lada blows anything it could have had stock out of the water. But there's more on offer here than just a stock 2JZ in a rickety Soviet chassis. Extra goodies include a Garrett ball-bearing turbocharger with a TiAL wastegate, a custom tubular exhaust manifold, and an electric power steering system. You know, to replace this Lada's old power steering system, a large pair of strong Soviet hands. The engine is paired with a Nissan CD009 six-speed manual gearbox out of a mid-2000s 350Z, and a Ford 8.8-inch rear end sure up the back end of the vehicle.
So then, an ex-Soviet chassis with a Japanese drivetrain and all-American hardware in the rear end. It's like the United Nations of auto parts under the skin of this Lada. It doesn't end there. With aftermarket front control arms and dampeners, four-wheel disk brakes all around, and a lowered performance suspension, this Lada carves corners with the same ferocity as Western sports cars. Thanks to a full roll cage and fire-suppression system, OMP racing seats with full harnesses, and a racing-style acrylic window, this old Lada is ready to take on the North American autocross scene with a fervor you'd never expect from a formerly anemic and laughably horrible Soviet automobile.
Add on the wicked fender flares, a fresh coat of white paint, and some awesome Enkei RPF1 17-inch alloy wheels, and suddenly, this Lada Riva isn't so easy to make fun of anymore. Well, that's an exaggeration. We can still rag on it all day but in a more lighthearted tone this time around.
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