The 'Lada Riva' is a medium-sized family car from
Russian manufacturer
AvtoVAZ, which was introduced in 1980 and sold under the
Lada brand in
saloon and
estate car forms. It was marketed as the 'Lada Nova' in some (not all)
European countries, as the and as the 'Lada 1500' and 'Lada Signet' in
Canada. It was sold in
Brazil as the 'Lada Laika'. The Lada Riva is the second most built single vehicle design in the world, at 13,500,000+ units, however some estimates put the figure far above that, surpassing that of the
Volkswagen Beetle.
History
The car in this guise was introduced in 1980, although its origins are older: it is a restyled version of the
Fiat 124-based
Lada Type ВАЗ-2101 / "Zhiguli" saloon, which was introduced in 1970. The Riva itself is officially designated as ВАЗ-2105 (base saloon), ВАЗ-2104 (estate), and ВАЗ-2107 for the deluxe saloon with large chrome grille, sometimes known (in
Eastern Bloc countries) as the 'Lada Nova Senior'. On the original Russian market the model is officially known only as ВАЗ-2105 (VAZ-2105) or ВАЗ-2107 (VAZ-2107) and among the Russians it's known as 'Pyatyorka' ('The Five') or Semyorka ('The Seven'). In Russia VAZ-2105, VAZ-2104, and VAZ-2107 are considered to be different cars rather than variants. Nonetheless all of them are unofficially included in a single 'Klassika' ('Classic') family along with older models like VAZ-2101 'Kopeika'.
Its running gear is similar to that of Fiat's
124, however rear drum brakes are used instead of discs, primarily for suitability in Russia's colder areas.
Tightening European safety and emissions legislation led to it being withdrawn from most Western European markets by 1997, although it is still in production at the AutoVAZ factory in Russia. In 2005, production of the estate was taken over by
Izh before assembly was transferred to the
Bogdan Group's LuAZ plant. The 2107 model is still in production, not only at AutoVAZ but also at the
ZAZ factory in
Ukraine and at
Suzuki's factory in
Egypt.

Lada Riva 1500 / Nova Senior
Other Variations
Model variants included the Riva Signet, Riva 1200, Riva 1300, Riva 1500, and Riva 1600, with trim levels "E" and "L". A Turbo charged model Lada 2107 Turbo was sold in Finland.
On the original Russian market the only model is 1500.
Production at Suzuki Egypt
In Egypt, the
Amal Foreign Trade Company and Lada's parent company AvtoVAZ signed a joint venture agreement to assemble Ladas for the
North African market in 2000. However as they did not have their own factory, space was found at a local Suzuki plant in
Cairo to assemble the 2107 version of the Riva. As of 2006, production continued at Suzuki with an additional model, the 2110, being produced. Plans are under-way for a separate factory to open in Egypt later this year for Lada production.
[1]
References
1. Global Auto Index :Lada Egypt
External links
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Lada Riva OEM diagrams, Riva manuals, parts
★
Lada Cars reviews, images, infos (English)