Start with what the ZIS-101 is: a 4-door Sedan (automobile) / saloon (ZIS-101) / 4-door convertible (ZIS-102) with 5.8L ZIS-101 I8, built from 1936 to 1941, when streamlining and independent suspension were arriving together. What it meant takes a little longer.
Where it came from
The ZIS-101 was a limousine produced by the Soviet car manufacturer Zavod Imeni Stalina from 1936 to 1941. Its chassis was reverse-engineered from a Buick 33-90, except for the front suspension, engine, exhaust and battery carried over from 1933 experimental limousine L-1, itself an unlicensed Buick 32-90 copy, but the body was designed by Budd Company for $1,500,000 while the stamps were made by Hamilton Foundry & Machine Company for another $500,000. It was equipped with an 5.76 L (351 cu in) straight-eight OHV engine (a metric copy of Buick 345) producing up to 110 PS (81 kW) and giving a top speed of 115 km/h (71 mph). The car was fitted with a 3-speed manual gearbox. It was followed by the ZIS-101A that had improved the engine giving 116 PS (85 kW) and a new top speed of approximately 130 km/h (81 mph). Production ended in 1941 with over 8,000 cars built.
In 1939, a two-seat sport version designed by Valentin Nikolaevich Rostkov called 101-Sport was built. The engine was the same as in the 101-A, but boosted to 141 PS (104 kW) and a top speed of 162 km/h (101 mph) (although a Pravda article claimed 170–180 km/h). It was, however, not made in more than one or two copies.
Under the skin
The engine is 5.8L ZIS-101 I8. On the scales it comes to 2550 kg. Drive goes through a 3-speed manual. The wheelbase is 3605 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
In the ZiL line-up the ZIS-101 has a clear place: it handed the line to the ZIS-110; the factory was Moscow (Likhachov Plant), Soviet Union. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Bugatti Type 57, the Volkswagen Beetle, the Chevrolet Suburban. Nearby in the ZiL catalogue sit the 9P138 Grad-1 and the AMO-2.
Owning one today
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the ZIS-101 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.