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23-657: Developed from the GAZ-69 , UAZ-471 and UAZ-460 , the UAZ-469 was introduced in 1971 to replace the GAZ-69. It is powered by the same 75 hp (55 kW) 2,445 cc (149.2 cu in) UMZ -452MI inline-four engine as the UAZ-452 and is able to run on gasoline with an octane rating as low as 72 (although 76 was preferred). The UAZ-469 presented two great advantages: it was able to drive in virtually any terrain and it

46-548: A "little brother" in 1980, the 10 Series , also produced in many body trims with different engines and in both 4x2 and 4x4 variants. ARO engines and other technology was also utilized in T.V. light commercial vehicles. The ABI (Autovehicul Blindat pentru Intervenție) armored car was built on the ARO chassis, using an ARO engine. Seventeen such vehicles were produced in 1979 and were used for internal security duties. Their armor ranged from 4 to 10 mm and they were equipped with

69-478: A Cuban-born American businessman, John Perez, offered franchise agreements to US auto dealers. Some 200 dealers paid $ 75,000 each for franchise rights, for a total of $ 15 million. These rights were offered by a company called East European Imports. The ARO was offered as a Warsaw Pact surplus military vehicle. After the franchises were sold, dealers were pressured to send cashier's checks or wire transfers to start receiving vehicles that were allegedly being held in

92-500: A four-speed transmission. In Mexico , a special package called Vallarta Kit, named after the beach resort of Puerto Vallarta , was released featuring a winch, steering assembly and gearbox reinforcement, snorkel, suspension kit and LED headlights, among other extras. A police patrol car version was available, based on the UAZ-31512-UMM with an insulated five-door metal body and optional special equipment. The UAZ-469B formed

115-426: A pair of doors and usually has standard canvas top and upper sides; there are two seats in front and two folding benches for three passengers each on sides. The further variant GAZ-69A (UAZ-69A) has four doors, folding canvas top and two rows of seats. It was used as the basis for the rear-wheel drive van GAZ-19 that was built in 1955 but did not pass the prototype stage. The off-road van and light truck UAZ-450 and

138-545: A port in Florida. Dealers refused and insisted to pay upon delivery which eventually led to East European Imports closing its doors. In September 2003 the Romanian state sold 68.7% of ARO to Cross Lander, a company owned by John Perez, for $ 180,000 US. The contract stipulated that the company had to invest $ 2 million US, which allegedly never took place. Instead, all of ARO's production tooling and equipment were sold off; this

161-407: A single-stage main gear without the final drive. The UAZ-469B was available with a contact or contactless (on later models) electronic ignition system . Its PTO shafts are slightly longer than the shafts of the UAZ-469 vehicle. The cabin is open and came with a detachable canvas roof; a hard-top roof made of metal or fiberglass could be purchased as an accessory. The 2.4-litre engine is paired with

184-619: A turret that housed a 7.62 mm PK machine gun , or a 12.7 mm DShK heavy machine gun mounted on top. Top speed was 100 km/h. In 1986, 5 were delivered to Liberia and in 1987 10 were delivered to Algeria . Export variant was called AM 100. The remaining 2 were destroyed during the Romanian Revolution and now their wrecks can be seen at the National Military Museum , in Bucharest . In 1998

207-628: The IMS M59 , and later modernized as the ARO M461 . GAZ-69s were standard military jeeps of the Eastern Bloc and client states, except Romania that mainly used the locally built ARO models. The standard GAZ-69 was able to reach 56 mph (90 km/h), but more powerful versions, with 2,400 cc (derived from the basic 2,100 cc) 65 h.p. engines and the same three-speed gearbox, could reach 100 km/h (62 mph). They were known as

230-520: The "Portaro" brand. In Italy, AROs were produced and sold under the ACM brand, often fitted with Volkswagen engines. In 2009, an attempt was made to restart low volume production of ARO vehicles under the aegis of a Czech company called Auto Max Czech (AMC). During the mid-2000s, Russian manufacturer Derways used ARO chassis to produce its Derways Cowboy model. The first factory in Câmpulung

253-529: The "UAZ Tigr" (Tiger), until General Motors complained that the name was too similar to the Opel Tigra , and in Germany, it was renamed " Baijah Taigah ". The UAZ-469 was exported to eighty countries, and between 1.65 to 2 million units of the vehicle and its variants were produced. UAZ-469B – a "civilian" version of the UAZ-469. In this version, the ground clearance is 220 mm and the drive axles use

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276-568: The ARO production was exported). AROs were also produced in Brazil , Italy , and Portugal ( Portaro ) often under another brandname. ARO vehicles were also produced for Spain and marketed under the name Hisparo managed by the company Enasa . Production started in 1957 with the IMS-57, which was the first model of the IMS Series , produced under a GAZ-69 license. In 1959 the IMS-57 model

299-498: The GAZ-69M, or GAZ-69AM for the four-door version. It featured two fuel tanks, one of 47 litres (12 US gal; 10 imp gal) under the floor, one of 28 litres (7 US gal; 6 imp gal) beneath the passenger's seat. All civilian models also had to meet Army requirements, in case of wartime requisitioning . (This is also why a hardtop version was not available until 1993) The basic variant GAZ-69 has

322-701: The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull a GAZ-69 appears in one of the chases of the film involving Spalko and the main characters. ARO (company) ARO (short for Auto Romania ) was a Romanian off-road vehicle manufacturer located in Câmpulung . The first ARO vehicles were produced in 1957, and the last in 2003. For a short while, Daihatsu -powered AROs were sold in Spain and produced in Portugal under

345-686: The UAZ-469 became the UAZ-3151, while the UAZ-469B became the UAZ-31512. Manufacture of the UAZ-31512 for the Russian Army continued until 2011, while manufacture for the civilian market was discontinued due to new emission standards . However, the currently manufactured UAZ Hunter is an updated version of the old UAZ-469B. The Hunter was originally sold in Germany and some Asian countries as

368-579: The basis of the TREKOL-39041 amphibious vehicle . The original version uses a 2.45-liter four-cylinder engine. From 2010 until 2013 it had a 2.7 L (2,693 cc) engine producing 112 hp (82 kW). GAZ-69 The GAZ-69 is a Soviet four-wheel drive off-road vehicle produced by GAZ (ГАЗ, or Gorkovsky Avtomobilnyi Zavod , Gorky Automobile Factory) between 1953 and 1956 and then by UAZ between 1956 and 1972, though all of these light truck class vehicles were known as GAZ-69s. It

391-562: The first prototypes known under the name "Truzhenik" (Toiler) were built in 1947. After extensive on-road testing, the new off-road vehicle went into production on August 25, 1953. Over 600,000 GAZ-69s had been built by the end of production in the USSR in 1972. A copy of the GAZ-69 with some modifications was produced by ARO in Romania until 1975, first as the IMS-57 , then heavily redesigned as

414-643: The newer UAZ-469 also traced their origins to the GAZ-69. The GAZ-69 had been the basic light off-road vehicle of the Soviet Army, replacing GAZ-67s and Willys Jeeps , before the army adopted the UAZ-469 . It was also used as the basis for the 2P26 tank destroyer , as well as for the GAZ-46 MAV, a light 4x4 amphibious vehicle inspired by the Ford GPA 'Seep'. In the film Indiana Jones and

437-533: Was also produced in Romania until 1975. The GAZ-69 was created by the team of chief designer Grigoriy Vasserman as a replacement for the GAZ-67B that would have lower fuel consumption than its predecessor and use the same 55  hp (41  kW ; 56  PS ) 2.1 L (130 cu in) inline four and three-speed transmission as the GAZ-M20 Pobeda . The development process started in 1946 and

460-695: Was an action which violated the privatization contract. The Romanian state sued John Perez in 2006 for falsifying documents in order to acquire the company. It was planned to enter the US market with the ARO 244 as the Cross Lander 244X , but funding ran out in February 2006. The company Cross Lander USA Inc fired all its employees, sold its headquarters and closed down in February 2006. ARO went into bankruptcy in June 2006. The company Amrom Automotive 2006

483-475: Was built during the Second World War , under orders from Marshal Ion Antonescu , starting 1942. The facility was initially meant to produce airscrews , being an extension of the Romanian aircraft manufacturer IAR . After the war, this factory formed the base for ARO. ARO manufactured over 380,000 vehicles, 2/3 of which were exported to some 110 countries on five continents (before 1989 about 90% of

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506-545: Was replaced by the M59, followed by a new model in 1964 called the M461. Though its styling and design were based on its predecessors, the M461 had clearly distinguishable features also boasting fit and finish improvements fitted with redesigned mechanicals. In 1972 ARO successfully launched a ground-up redesign as their new family of models, the 24 Series which eventually included many models and configurations. The ARO 24 Series got

529-432: Was very easy to repair. The vehicle was originally not available for purchase by the public, but many were sold as surplus to private owners. Modifications include a basic UAZ-469B with ground clearance of 220 mm (8.7 in), and a specialized military UAZ-469, with ground clearance increased to 300 mm (12 in). After slight modernisation in 1985, due to new industry designation standards, they were renamed:

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