ZiL does not build many cars like the ZIL-111 with 6.0 L ZIL-111 V8, built from 1958 to 1967 at the height of the post-war boom.
Where it came from
The ZIL-111 was a limousine produced by the Soviet car manufacturer ZiL from 1958 to 1967. It was the first post-war limousine designed in the Soviet Union. After tests with the short-lived prototype ZIL-Moscow in 1956, which gained a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest passenger car in the world, the ZIL-111 was introduced from ZIL in 1958. The body style was in the American tradition of the time and resembled the mid-1950s cars built by Packard, although, apart from being in tune with current trends, it was an original design and had nothing in common with them, except in general layout. The interiors were trimmed with top quality leather and broadcloth and decorated with thick pile carpet and polished wooden fittings.
It featured a comprehensive ventilation and heating system and a 5-band radio, all of which could be controlled from the rear, electric windows, vacuum-operated screen wash, windshield and front door window defrosting. It was powered by a 6.0 L V8 engine producing 200 hp (150 kW) connected to an automatic transmission (similar to that of Chrysler's PowerFlite and influenced by it, but different in design) giving a top speed of 170 km/h (106 mph), hydraulic drum brakes with a vacuum servo booster, coil and wishbone IFS. The car won a top prize at the Brussels Expo World Fair in 1958. Apart from a basic version ZIL-111, the manufacturer produced ZIL-111A with air conditioning, which had a smaller and flatter rear window due to air tubes, and the convertible ZIL-111V (ЗИЛ-111В in Russian), of which only 12 were built. In December 1962 the car
Under the skin
Under the skin sits 6.0 L ZIL-111 V8. Kerb weight is 2610 -. The gearbox is a 2-speed automatic with a torque converter. 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 3760 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: the ZIS-110 came before it; the ZIL-114 followed it; it was built at Moscow (Likhachov Plant), Soviet Union. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Mini Mini, the Nissan Patrol, the Dodge Challenger. 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 ZIL-111 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.