LuAZ – 1301

The Luaz 1301 was a prototype off-road vehicle developed by Luaz, the Ukrainian all-terrain vehicle manufacturer based in Luck (Lutsk) and part of the Soviet ZAZ group. It was created as a successor to the company's small, up to five-seat 4x4 utility vehicle. Two design teams worked on replacements in parallel: Luaz's own in-house team produced the 1301, while the Leningrad design centre linked to the Moscow Nami research institute produced a separate prototype called the Luaz Proto. The goals for the new vehicle included a more modern appearance, low weight, and a marked improvement in comfort, built around the 1.1-litre engine from the ZAZ small car and the four-wheel-drive system from the Luaz 4x4.

The Luaz 1301 prototype was completed in late 1988 and was regarded as a preview of an intended production model. It had a plastic body mounted on a steel sheet frame, a grille-less front end with recessed headlights outlined in dark paint, and two-tone paintwork. Its rear end featured a horizontally split tailgate, and the rear bodywork could be reconfigured to turn the vehicle into a pickup. It introduced permanent four-wheel drive and adjustable ground clearance, and used some components from the ZAZ 1102 Tavria small car. The 1301 was a plastic-bodied off-road estate with three doors and five seats, powered by a MeMZ-245 four-cylinder 1091 cc engine producing 52 hp at 5500 rpm and 80 Nm at 3500 rpm, reaching 120 km/h. It measured 3380 mm long, 1570 mm wide, 1600 mm high, with a 2190 mm wheelbase and a weight of 850 kg.