FSC Żuk

FSC Żuk
FSC Żuk A-07
Overview
Manufacturer	FSO
Production	1958–1998
Assembly	Lublin, Poland
Body and chassis
Class	Light commercial vehicle
Body style	2-door van 3-door minibus 2-door pick-up truck 4-door pickup truck
Related	GAZ-M20 Pobeda FSR Tarpan Nysa
Powertrain
Engine	2.1 L M-20 SV I4 2.1 L S-21 OHV I4
Transmission	3-speed manual 4-speed manual (1970–1998)
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,700 mm (110 in)
Length	4,665 mm (183.7 in)
Width	1,710 mm (67 in)
Height	1,905 mm (75.0 in)
Curb weight	1,350–1,550 kg (2,980–3,420 lb)
Chronology
Predecessor	FSC Lublin-51
Successor	FSC Lublin

Żuk A15 serving as a fire engine

Żuk A-11 B pickup-truck

The Żuk (pl. beetle) is a van and light truck produced in Lublin, Poland, between 1958 and 1998 by FSC. It was based on FSO Warszawa, which in turn was licensed from the Soviet passenger car GAZ-M20 Pobeda. The chassis, suspension and engine from FSO Warszawa formed the basis of the Żuk and the Nysa light vans designed in the late 1950s. About 587818 were manufactured.

History

Based on a reinforced Warszawa chassis, engine, and gearbox, the Żuk differed only in that it had a angular van body on the passenger car chassis. While this proved good for easy parts interchange and maintenance, it also had some disadvantages, such as:

• low durability of front suspension components,
• high load box,
• a high center of gravity,
• too small track width,
• limited possibilities in terms of increasing the parameters of the car (especially the payload).

However, during the production of this vehicle at FSC, its design was modernized (especially in the 1970s), more powerful and economical engines were introduced, the gearbox was changed, and the exterior was modernized. Nevertheless, the old Warszawa chassis remained the same.

The vehicle was designed by engineers Stanisław Tański and Roman Skwarek. Julian Kamiński was responsible for the appearance of the body. In peak periods, 30 thousand Żuks were produced per year. The car was produced both for export and for the domestic market. The name of the car comes from the striped paint scheme of the final version of the prototype of the vehicle. It was proposed by Julian Kamiński.

The Żuk was mainly sold to state organizations, but also to individuals. After 1989, with the liberalization of the Polish economy, the Żuk was able to maintain sales to the traditional markets and expand the number sold to individual consumers. The final few years of production was in parallel to its successor, the Lublin van, as a cheaper alternative.

The Żuk came in a range of body styles. The most common were van and light 1.1-ton pickup truck. Rarer variants were minibus and a long-cab truck. Rare for a van, it had independent front suspension. It was very angular, with a number of wide channels running along the side of the body and a completely flat windscreen/windshield. After about ten years in production the front of the cab was restyled, from then on the distinctive side channels no longer continued around onto the front to meet the grille. No further changes were made, except a minor change to the number of vents located above the headlights.

The Żuk was a favourite of farmers, and a common place to find groups of them was at any local market when they were used to transport crops from the fields to the farmers’ own stalls. The Polish postal service (Poczta Polska) used large numbers of Żuks painted in a dull orange colour, and local fire services used them as personnel carriers or even as mini fire engines in country districts.

The Żuk was exported around the Eastern Bloc, and was shipped to the Soviet Union in the panel van form. From the 1970's to about 1990, it was also manufactured in Egypt under licence as ELTRAMCO RAMZES.