Lada Riva Turbo - did it ever exist?

[garethj]

A well meaning but clearly bonkers bloke at work here says he had a 1980s brochure of a Lada Riva with turbocharger and bodykit. Can anyone confirm it really happened?

[red5]

We had boot spoilers, wheel arch extensions, door extensions and side/front/rear skirts etc available at 'my' dealership. The legendary 'sport' kit was also roughly that time - twin sidedraught Dell'ortos or Solex iirc. Fancy air box and a Janspeed exhaust system. Never saw any 'Factory' turbo kits though...

[garethj]

If a Lada dealership was open now selling stuff like that, I imagine we'd all be camped out on the front lawn waiting to see someone order it.

 

HOT NEWS UPDATE: Google brings up this, which was apparently done by the Lada importer in Finland. But what were they doing giving brochures away in a UK motor show in the '80s?

 

 

There's no doubt this car is TEH SEX

[fordperv]

If they do exist I would love to see one, a good few years back I saw a blokes homebuilt Riva turbo but that one used a 2.0 yb from a Sierra cosworth though it went like stink

[Wilko220]

I vaguely remember some motoring programme back in the '90s (could have been old style Top Gear) running a competition whereby the winner would have their car souped up and tuned by a some racing car firm like Maclaren or Lotus. The winner ended up being a bloke with a Lada Riva. My memory of it is very distant but I remember watching it being caned around a race track and very much wanting the car!

[RedSparrow]

Yeah the Top gear one was a Lotus:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojJ-j2xio8Y

TG part starts at 15.20

 

This site suggests there was a rally version with a 1800 cc. engine (turbocharged, 16V)

http://www.autosoviet.altervista.org/main-english.htm

[Volksy]

Aye, it was new top gear, with a Riva given to Lotus to do up.

[Shep Shepherd]

There was a rotary version available for a time as well

[Paul Dupart]

If a Lada dealership was open now selling stuff like that, I imagine we'd all be camped out on the front lawn waiting to see someone order it.

 

HOT NEWS UPDATE: Google brings up this, which was apparently done by the Lada importer in Finland. But what were they doing giving brochures away in a UK motor show in the '80s?

 

 

There's no doubt this car is TEH SEX

 

It certainly put a smile on Jack Dee's face, which you don't see too often!

[skattrd]

Wasn't the "Lotus" one fitted with a Guy Croft Fiat/Lancia twincam engine?

[RedSparrow]

Yes.

[Wilko220]

Thanks for the link, RS.

I wonder if the Guy Croft Lada still exists. A DVLA search for the reg number on the original car (P968 0EX) comes up with nothing...

[TagoraSX]

[STUNO]

^^^^^^ Inspired by a car built over a decade ago ^^^^^^^^

[dean36014]

My old one I bought in '88 came with a factory bodykit and brown velour sport seats, but sadly just the 1500 engine and no turbo.

[Cavcraft]

/\

What a fab picture, deserves to be in the calendar thread.

[Micrashed]

THIS thread on RR gives a bit more info about the fate of the TG Lada....