Comments on: Chrysler Alpine : Moskvich Aleko

By: Dickie524

Dickie524 — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:45:26 +0000

Proper Retro, it looks like a 5-door Fuego to me!

By: KeithB

KeithB — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 20:58:51 +0000

The car in image no7 looks like the headlamp’s blown

By: Dan

Dan — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 13:40:17 +0000

It seems to have been a minor symbol of the overall decline of the Soviet system, from the early days of the 20`s when Lenin encouraged the combining of technology and creativity in all its forms with futuristic engineering and design concepts that still have the power to shock today, only for civil society (from whence the creativity sprang), to wilt and die under Stalin`s totalitarian hand, leaving Soviet designers with only space / aeronautics as their stronghold, (and that preoccupied with obvious military usages). As for everyone else-a reheated Alpine would have to do. A small footnote to the last century`s saddest story.

By: Simon Hodgetts

Simon Hodgetts — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:30:23 +0000

@ daveh – I took a look at the autosoviet website – I’m really going to enjoy it – one thing tickled me though, there is a pic on the Aleko page with a guy in the driver’s seat who looks suspiciously like either an Eastern Bloc hit-man, or Borat!!

By: Hilton Davis

Hilton Davis — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:54:35 +0000

Thanks Will… I took a look at that autoexpress link – interesting possible developments for Nissan/Datsun. I recall the original Datsun logo was the same style as the Nissan one, just different name.

As you say, we’ll always remember Datsun for 70′s cars like the Cherry, Sunny, Violet, Bluebird, 240Z etc

By: Will M

Will M — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 13:10:19 +0000

Hilton, I recall my dad and his friends driving various 70s/80s Datsuns coupes and saloons fondly, before Nissan became an SUV manufacturer.

The reintroduction of Datsun was reported by DasAutoBild (I mean, AutoExpress), the tabloid of the motoring press so may not be the most reliable information

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/273262/datsun_ready_to_return.html

By: daveh

daveh — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 13:03:40 +0000

If you go to the autosoviet website you will see that they had built prototypes in the 1970′s which had a similar profile, and according to this site it was the communist party who pushed for the car to be a copy of the Alpine.

By: Hilton Davis

Hilton Davis — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:02:17 +0000

@Will M… Do you mean Nissan are re-introducing the Datsun brand? Oh goody! My first ever brand new car was a Datsun Cherry hatch. My Dad later owned an ’85 Sunny Coupe which carried Nissan badging overall, but with a small Datsun name on the tailgate.

By: Andrew Elphick

Andrew Elphick — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:00:53 +0000

Will those facelifted 206 look like they HAVE been crashed tested!

By: Will M

Will M — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 15:35:04 +0000

@Andrew Elphick

There have been rumours and speculation that Talbot will make a comeback on a budget PSA range to compete with Dacia, Skoda, and the new Nissan ‘Datsun’ range.

Would make sense to badge the old 206 a that is built with 207-style facelift as a Talbot.

Biggest obstacle to EU sales would be the Euro-emissions targets and crash tests.

By: Mark Pitchford

Mark Pitchford — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 15:02:30 +0000

I spent a couple of weeks in Russia last year and saw a couple of these. They look so similar in both style and size that I was utterly convinced that it was the result of a Fiat/Lada type sale of an old design to the Eastern Bloc. Odd car to copy – it was hardly a world beater as an Alpine, was it?

By: Alexander Boucke

Alexander Boucke — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:52:24 +0000

In Germany these have been sold as Ladas for a short period.

By: Chris C

Chris C — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:14:55 +0000

The comparison is even closer with the facelifted Alpine with its rear sloping nose, eg http://www.simcatalbotclub.org/talpine.htm

By: Hilton Davis

Hilton Davis — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 11:26:46 +0000

Interesting… yes, its profile is similar to the Alpine and the grille & headlamps also to the later facelift Alpine’s. Overall though I still prefer the genuine Chrysler Alpine.

By: Andrew Elphick

Andrew Elphick — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 07:18:16 +0000

I would love to know the devlopment time of these – in the ex Trabant factory, the adjoing museum has many what if’s, and they have huge conception/stagnation times. Did PSA intend to flog the tooling off Iran Khodro/Peugeot Nigera style?

Or could the Talbot badge have been worn on eastern block assembled Alpines is the big question, creating a budget PSA brand?

By: Mikey C

Mikey C — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 23:44:54 +0000

That nose looks very similar to that of many cars, notably the Nissan Cherry Europe

By: ian

ian — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 23:18:18 +0000

Not surprising they copied it as it was COtY in 1976. (A bit out of date by 1988, though…)

A bit VAG about those wheels (although they’re also a copy of the Alpine’s), and definitely something of early eighties Renault about the front-end styling.

By: Julian Nowill

Julian Nowill — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 21:10:37 +0000

They even did a production stretch Aleko and a 2 door luxury coupe….those commie car designers are fully sick!.

By: jonathan carling

jonathan carling — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 16:56:01 +0000

It’s a copy isn’t it?

By: Phil Simpson

Phil Simpson — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 16:33:56 +0000

It might look like an Alpine but the underpinnings draw more from the Audi 100 with an, albeit existing Moskovich, longitudinal engine & similar suspension set up to the German car.

Moskovich engineers were frustrated by the powers that be’s decision to copy the Alpine’s body since they had designed mock ups themselves but the “Alpine” was the cheaper option to implement.