Zastava Yugo 1980-2008

[B]A Short History of Zastava and Yugo.[/B]

Zastava was an arms manufacturer founded in 1853 in Serbia. By the early 1950s, the company had expanded into automobile production using designs licensed by Fiat. Some of the most successful models were those based on the Fiat 128 model, marketed under different names: Zastava 101, Zastava 128, Zastava 311, etc.

In the mid-seventies, Zastava management decided to develop a new compact model, still largely based on the Fiat 128 mechanicals. It was styled by Zastava with some help from Fiat engineers. The model was originally to be known as Zastava 102, but the name was dropped in 1981 and the car released as Yugo 45. Several variants were made, with 903 cc, 1116 cc, and 1301 cc engines.

Right from the start, Yugo was exported to the Western Europe. Yugo was the only Eastern European car that was successfully exported to the USA for several years.

In the early 1990s, Zastava was affected greatly by the Yugoslav War. As a result, Yugo disappeared from most foreign markets after 1992. In 1999, during the Kosovo War, NATO bombed the factory in Serbia because Zastava Arms was a major military supplier to the Serb government.

After the war, Yugo was facelifted and updated with modern technology. The new version was called Zastava Koral, but export to the Western countries never recovered.

In 2002, the American entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin, who had previously imported Yugo into the United States, signed a deal with Zastava to reintroduce the company's products into America. Bricklin's intention was to sell the cars for less than $10,000 under the brand name ZMW (as in Zastava Motor Works) which in the United States would be pronounced Zee-M-W. The project was eventually cancelled.

In 2008, production of all Zastava cars ceased and the factory was taken over by Fiat.

Between 1980 and 2008, almost 800,000 Yugos were made. Of that number, around 250,000 were exported to various countries.

Possibly the rarest of all Yugos is this drop-top version. Just 500 of these little convertibles were made between 1990 and 1991.

Suprisingly, these featured an electro-hydraulic top with fully retracting quarter windows and a heated glass (not plastic) rear window. The price was also premium, costing twice as much as regular hatchback model.

"Ultimate" Yugo-page.com
What a lovely little car ! :D

I think the rarest in the UK is probably the Yugo Sana