The Moskvitch G5 is a Open wheel from Moskvitch, built from 1968 to 1969, in the decade that gave the world the pony car and the mid-engined supercar. Under the bonnet: 1.5L GD-1 Double overhead camshaft. I. Gladilin / M. Milstein drew it.
Where it came from
The Moskvitch G5 was a Soviet Formula One car from Moskvitch released in 1968. It was connected with a Soviet program of international Formula One racing, but was used only in Soviet edition of Formula One. Despite popular belief, the G5 as such was not meant to race in international Formula One racing. The G5 was a successor of Moskvitch G4, and components of two G4M's were used to construct both G5 cars. Main difference was a new construction layout, with a new five-gear gearbox mounted at the rear, behind an engine and a rear axle. Also a rear suspension was new one. The G5 was also the first Russian car with disk brakes on all wheels. The car debuted in Soviet Formula One racing in September 1968. The engine was an uprated 1478 cc inline-4 engine from the Moskvitch 412, taken from the G4M and developing first 92 hp (70 kW).
During 1969 season the engine was replaced with Moskvitch 412-2V, fitted with a new DOHC head and two twin Weber 40DCO carburetors. This engine produced 100 hp (75 kW) at 5800 rpm. In 1970 the engine was modified to develop 112 hp (80 kW). Displacement was increased to 1840 cc in 1972 (now producing 124 hp (92 kW). A fiberglass body was also added in 1974, replacing an aluminium body, and the cars were redesignated as G5M (this designation is sometimes used already for 1972 version as well). The G5M was raced until 1976. The two cars were given in 1983 to Moskvitch factory museum. In 1963 there started a program, led by Igor Gladilin and Lev Shugurov to design an engine for a true international Formula One car. The effect was the GD-1, an eight-cyli
Under the skin
Power comes from 1.5L GD-1 Double overhead camshaft; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. It weighs 580 kg. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
Its family tree is legible: it took over from the Moskvitch G4. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Peugeot 504, the Toyota Hilux, the Pontiac Firebird — show what else the money bought that year. Nearby in the Moskvitch catalogue sit the AZLK-2139 and the AZLK-2144.
What it costs now
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Moskvitch G5 has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.