ZiL does not build many cars like the BAV 485: a waterproofed hull with 5.6L ZIS-123 I6, built from 1952 to 1962 at the height of the post-war boom.
Where it came from
The ZIS-485, army designation BAV (Russian, БАВ, большой автомобиль водоплавающий - bolshoi avtomobil vodoplavayushchiy, big floating vehicle), is a Soviet amphibious transport, a copy of the WWII American DUKW. During World War II, the Soviets received 586 DUKW-353 amphibious trucks under the Lend-Lease Act. The design was regarded as successful, so it was decided to build a similar domestic vehicle. Due to lack of own experience, the DUKW was copied, although with improvements enhancing its capability. The prototype was built in 1949 in ZIS subsidiary DAZ in Dnepropetrovsk, but a production started at ZIS factory, as ZIS-485. Introduced in 1952, it was intended to complement the GAZ-46 4x4 amphibious reconnaissance vehicle, but using the ZIS-151 6x6 truck (also used in the BTR-152) as its basis. Similar in size to the DUKW, which it resembles, the BAV has a rear tail gate making loading and unloading easier, rather than all cargo being loaded over the side by crane.
Also a platform was enlarged by 1/3, to 10.44 m2. Initially based on ZIS-151 truck, after the introduction of the improved ZIL-157 the vehicle was modernized using its components now bearing the designation ZIL-485A (army designation was BAV-A). Its production started in 1958, but it ceased in ZIL factory in 1959, after manufacturing 2005 ZIS/ZIL-485. It was planned to move the production to BAZ works in Bryansk, but only 24 vehicles were completed there by 1962. The cargo body is open, but a canvas cover is available. Propulsion in water is by means of propeller. BAVs were used in service by Warsaw Pact Armie
Under the skin
Under the skin sits 5.6L ZIS-123 I6. Kerb weight is 7,150 kg. The gearbox is a 5-speed manual (road) / Power take-off / PTO propeller drive (water). The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 4225 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
Where it sits in ZiL's history is not in doubt: it was built at Moscow, Soviet Union. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Cadillac Eldorado, the Toyota Land Cruiser, the Chevrolet Corvette. Nearby in the ZiL catalogue sit the 9P138 Grad-1 and the AMO-2.
The money
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the BAV 485 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.