During the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Design Center at VAZ was developing their own version of the VAZ 2802, while Stanislav Usov's bureau was concurrently engaged in its own project involving a car bearing the index 2802. This situation unfolded during the years 1979-1980.
The presence of two distinct constructions carrying the same index in official documents created the potential for confusion and misunderstandings. To address this issue, sub-indices -01 and -02 were introduced to differentiate between them. The vehicle developed at the Design Center was designated as VAZ 2802-02 Pony, while the one from the electric vehicle design bureau became VAZ 2802-01 Pony. However, these designations were less commonly used, with most referring to them as "Usovskaya" and "Demidovskaya" respectively.
In their pursuit, the design bureau opted for a direction that had been rejected by the Design Center. Their vision centered around a truck with a single cab and a lightweight body. This involved utilizing aluminum for the frame and body panels to achieve weight reduction. Functionality and technology took precedence over aesthetics in this rational approach. Alexander Degtyarev, who had experience as a designer of "BK" (meaning "without a category") at VAZ, was entrusted with crafting the car's appearance.
The appearance of the 2802-01 may have appeared straightforward, but its creators weren't concerned about this aspect. Sergey Dokuchaev, the lead designer, justified the design by explaining that it was intended as a test "mule" to explore various layout solutions. Despite being relatively light at 1140 kg, with a 500 kg payload capacity, the car encountered an issue with weight distribution that caused difficulty during initial acceleration.
The fate of the 2802-01 was marked by a fire that rendered it unusable. Consequently, all the primary experiments were conducted on the sole existing unit of the 2802-01. This unit was eventually dismantled, a decision that remains shrouded in mystery. Although the 2802-01 didn't garner design awards or widespread attention, it served as a valuable testing ground for numerous ideas and design innovations.
Source: sovcarhistory.ru; rusautomobile.livejournal.com (translated from Russian)
Images: AVTOVAZ; rusautomobile.livejournal.com
