The Lada Riva, marketed in some West European countries as Lada Nova and in Canada as Lada 1500 and Lada Signet was introduced in 1980. It is a restyled version of the Fiat 124-based Lada Type ВАЗ-2101 / "Zhiguli" sedan, which was introduced in 1970. The Riva itself is officially designated as ВАЗ-2105 (base sedan, ВАЗ-2104 wagon and ВАЗ-2107 for the deluxe sedan with large chrome grille (as seen in the illustration below).
Tightening European safety and emissions legislation led to it being withdrawn from most Western European markets by 1997, although it is still in production at the AutoVAZ factory in Russia. In 2005, production of the wagon was taken over by Izh before assembly was transferred to the Bogdan Group's LuAZ plant. The 2107 model is still in production, not only at AutoVAZ but also at the ZAZ factory in Ukraine and at Suzuki's factory in Egypt.
Some claim the Lada Riva is the best selling car ever, outselling both the VW Beetle (with 21 million sold) and the Ford Model T (with 15.5 million sold). The veracity of this is difficult to prove, as record-keeping under the Soviet government was spotty at best. However, another source claims that sales of the Lada Riva equal roughly 13.5 million.
[] Other Variations
Other variants included Riva Signet, Riva 1200, Riva 1300, Riva 1500, Riva 1600, with modifications E and L
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