The ZIL-117 is a 4-door Sedan (automobile) / saloon / 2-door convertible / 4-door convertible from ZiL, built from 1971 to 1979, as the oil crises and the first emissions rules rewired the industry. Under the bonnet: 7.0L ZIL-114 V8. The total made was 50.
How it came about
The ZIL-117 is a luxury sedan built by ZiL in USSR and first presented at the Autoprom (precursor of the Moscow International Motor Show) in 1977. Debuting in 1971, it was derived from the earlier ZIL-114. Design of the ZIL-117 began in 1968, with the first prototype running in 1969. The ZIL-117 shares the 6,959 cc (424.7 cu in) V8 engine also fitted to the ZIL-114. Maximum power output of 300 hp SAE Gross at 4,400 rpm was claimed, using a relatively high 9.0:1 compression ratio, fuel feed being via a single four-choke carburettor. The car uses a two or three-speed automatic transmission and power steering came as standard. The factory claimed a maximum speed of between 118–125 mph (190–201 km/h). The car was only 5,725 mm (225.4 in) long, compared to 247 inches (6,300 mm) for the ZIL-114, on a 3,310 mm (130 in) wheelbase (compared to 3,760 mm (148 in) for the ZIL-114. It seated five, rather than the seven of the ZIL-114. One of the reasons to design the ZIL-117 was a need of a government car of an intermediate rank between ZIL-114 (reserved for highest state and party authorities) and GAZ-13 Chaika, appropriate for example for Politburo member candidates, and also as supporting cars in highest officials' convoys. Only 50 were built. There was also a convertible, the ZIL-117V, produced from 1973 to 1979 (for military parades on Red Square).
The ZIL-117 was replaced in 1986 by the mechanically similar ZIL-41041.
The hardware
Power comes from 7.0L ZIL-114 V8. It weighs 2880 kg. It shifts through a 2-speed Automatic transmission / automatic / 3-speed automatic (offered from April 1975). 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 3300 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
Its family tree is legible: its successor was the ZIL-115; assembly was at Moscow (Likhachov Plant), Soviet Union. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the American Motors Corporation AMC Gremlin, the Renault 5, the Suzuki Jimny — show what else the money bought that year. Its ZiL stablemates include the 9P138 Grad-1 and the AMO-2.
What it costs now
There is no federal ownership record for the ZIL-117 — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.