Eyewitnesses filmed an unusual car on the roads of Togliatti: it looks like the Brazilian Renault Kardian, but with a different design of the lights, trunk, and bumper. The car belongs to AvtoVAZ. This is a pre-production sample of a cross-hatchback that was supposed to replace the Renault Sandero in 2022. After the French company left the Russian market, the project was curtailed. Now, AvtoVAZ employees may be testing the car to refine the LADA Iskra, which shares the same platform with the prototype — CMF-B-LS, Motor.ru suggests.
There is little information about the prototype. The cross-hatch was supposed to be equipped with a 1.6-liter naturally aspirated H4M engine and a JATCO variator. After Renault left, AvtoVAZ was left with several such cars. Due to the fact that the prototype shares a common platform with the LADA Iskra, experts suggest that the Sandero, which did not enter the market, is participating in the Iskra refinement project to bring it to a marketable condition.
As a reminder, the LADA Iskra should be shown at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum. The car will be built on the XJO platform, which was previously called CMF-B LS, but was renamed due to localization and a high degree of import substitution.
Read more on the topic:
LADA Iskra was spotted on the road for the first time
AvtoVAZ announced a new model – LADA Iskra
AvtoVAZ President announced the presentation date of LADA Iskra
