Lada Niva blows all 50 candles on its cake - are you coming to the party?

Lada Niva blows out all 50 candles on its cake, and it invites you to join the party! The Niva is inching closer to celebrating its Golden Jubilee, marking 50 illustrious years in production. To commemorate this significant occasion, the classic car is receiving some exciting birthday upgrades.

Niva's gift to its fans includes new-fashioned enhancements, extending beyond exterior restyling to include a thrilling, modern, and powerful engine. Intriguing, isn't it?

Despite these game-changing engine features, the Niva remains true to its bare-bones 1970s ethos. Furthermore, the Niva Legend will continue to be produced without an automatic transmission.

As reported by Drive.com.au, the very first Niva rolled off the production line on April 5, 1977. AutoVAZ, the company behind the no-frills off-roader, has confirmed that the upcoming model will continue production into the future. AutoVAZ CEO, Maxim Sokolov, announced on Russian channel Kommersant that the “Niva will reach its half-century anniversary,” expected in 2027.

In the Russian market, Niva is enjoying a production peak with 3,135 examples sold in June 2023 alone. It's essential not to confuse the classic Niva Legend model with Niva Travel, a modernized design that Lada sells at a similar rate.

Like many Russian industries, Niva's production was affected by sanctions due to the invasion of Ukraine. However, as the Russian automotive industry was never overly sophisticated, AutoVAZ is relying more than ever on its simple and classic models, aiming to keep the production lines moving amidst supply chain challenges.

Rumors abound of a brand-new sport model coming soon. What we know for sure is that a potential 16-valve engine boasting 122 horsepower is on the horizon. While this may not be much by modern standards, it exceeds the 75hp engine that first powered the Niva in 1977.

Currently, the Niva features a 1.7-liter gasoline engine producing 81 hp and 95 lb-ft of torque. There are reports of an impending more powerful 1.6-liter engine. The most likely candidate is the engine from the Lada Vesta city car, suitable for 104 hp and 109 lb-ft of torque. This aligns with claims that the Niva's engine will be "turned around" from its previous configuration, with the Vesta having a transversely-mounted engine for its front-wheel-drive application.