Soviet Hot Rod

Cars

The Hot Rod is one of the totems of the American dream – as uniquely yank as hot dogs, burger stands and Hollywood. It’s interesting, then, to see the Soviets take on an American staple.

This red skinned monster is a recreation of a pre-war Russian soupster called the GAZ GL-1. It was built, according to specialists over at Kustomarama, on the frame of a 1933 Ford by a Russian coach building house in 2010 and then exhibited at a Moscow museum.

Wrought in a typical sort of Soviet futurism, the original car was designed by a fellah named Alexander Zahkarov- who we presume must have been tasked by the Stalin-led administration to try to outdo the capitalists in their quest for straight line speed.

Whatever motivated the project, it’s a telling little window on a clash of cultures past…




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