No 78 Moskvich 412 - The British MOT test set the bar too high for this throwback Russian saloon

摘要

The 1968 London-Sydney Marathon is still reckoned to be one of the toughest car rallies ever. Spanning a fair chunk of the planet to cover 7000 miles over 25 days, this ferocious test was won by a car almost forgotten today. But if the Hillman Hunter seemed an unlikely winner, glory still more outlandish was gathered by a trio of Moskvich 408s, all of which finished, the highest in 20th place. All this from a car incapable of passing a British MOT even when new, a troubling detail uncovered by an early 1970s Motor magazine test of the bigger-engined but otherwise identical Moskvich 412. The brakes were the trouble; the Soviet machine's handbrake was unable to hold it on a hill. Luckily for UK importer Satra Motors, there was no requirement for the test to be passed until the car was three years old and out of warranty.