The ZAZ-969 (also called LuAZ-969) was a Soviet four-wheel drive automobile built by the Zaporizhia Automobile Building Plant. The first Soviet vehicle with front wheel drive, it was based on the LuAZ-967.
The body of the car LuAZ-969 is semi-bearing, with an integrated frame of the spar type. The vehicle layout is characterized by a strong forward shift of the passenger compartment, which made it possible to achieve a constant high load on the front axle, thereby ensuring high traction and adhesion properties even when driven only to the front wheels.
The engine is a V-shaped, four-cylinder, very close to the engines of the small cars of the Zaporozhets brand. Until 1975, LuAZ was supplied with a MeMZ-969 engine with a working volume of 877 cm³ and a capacity of 30 hp (analogue of motors “Zaporozhts” models 965A and 966B), after – MeMZ-969A, 1197 cm³ and 40 hp.
Suspension – torsion bar, on trailing arms, with large strokes. Wheels – 13-inch, with a developed mud tread pattern. The bolt pattern of the wheels corresponds to that used on the rear-wheel drive Moskvich cars, but the wheels themselves are original, with a large positive offset, and, unlike the rest of AvtoZAZ products, they have a disk design.
Brakes – drum brakes on all wheels, hydraulically actuated, without booster.