NAMI (automotive institute)

NAMI

Formation	1918 (1918)
Location	Moscow, Russia
Official language	Russian
Website	http://www.nami.ru
Formerly called	Tractor Research Institution (1931—1946)

The Central Scientific Research Automobile and Automotive Engines Institute, abbreviated as NAMI (Russian: Государственный научный центр Российской Федерации Федеральное государственное унитарное предприятие "Центра́льный нау́чно-иссле́довательский автомоби́льный и автомото́рный институ́т "НАМИ" (ГНЦ РФ ФГУП "НАМИ")) is the leading scientific organisation in Russian Federation in the field of automotive industry development.

The institute was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour.

History

The research and development automobile and engine institute was established on 14 March 1920 on the basis of Scientific Automobile Laboratory (Russian: Научной автомобильной лаборатории (НАЛ)) of Scientific and Technical department of VSNKh. This laboratory was established on 16 October 1918. From 1924 the institute permitted purchases of foreign automobiles and automobile accessories. The first original automobile, the NAMI 1, had been developed by 1927 (the first car of the USSR).

NAMI 1 car

During the 1930s the institute became the leading development department of the Soviet automotive industry. During that there had been developed and put into production first Soviet trolleybuses, created several models of tractors and lorries. For Red Army vehicles with half-tracks and armored vehicles had been actively developed.^[1]

From 1931 to 1946 the institute was called Automobile and Tractor Research Institution (Russian: Научный автотракторный институт (НАТИ)).^[2]

In the beginning of 1946, because the tractor industry was transferred under supervision of the Ministry of Agricultural Machinery, NATI was split in two parts. The automobile branch was kept under supervision of Ministry of Automobile Industry and was reorganized into Scientific and Research automobile and engine institute (NAMI) (Russian: Научно-исследовательский автомобильный и автомоторный институт (НАМИ)). The tractor division was transferred under the supervision of Ministry of Agricultural Machinery. This division served as a basis for the Union Tractor Research Institution (NATI) (Russian: Научно-исследовательский тракторный институт (НАТИ)).

Multiple experimental and prototype engines were developed at the Institute, many which served as basis for the mass production ones. In the 60s the Institute developed some front-wheel drive and automatic transmissions which weren't put into production until much later, as these were deemed too expensive and complex for the current state of the industry,^[2] citing the example of a GAZ-21 automatic transmission, for which the service infrastructure was virtually non-existent.

In 1994 the NAMI got the status of the State scientific centre of the Russian Federation.

In 2003 Federal Agency on Technical Regulating and Metrology certified NAMI as a Testing centre of automotive industry products (Russian: Испытательный центр продукции автомобилестроения (ИЦАИ)).

In 2014 the NAMI purchased the Yo-Mobile project for 1 Euro.^[3]

In May 2018, NAMI unveiled for the first time in public the next generation of presidential state car "Kortezh" for the Fourth presidential inauguration of Vladimir Putin ^[4]

NAMI represents Russian Federation in the Technical committee 22 "Road transport" of ISO.

Testing facility

In the 1960s the testing facility of NAMI Russian: (Научный испытательный центр автомобильной и мотоциклетной техники, НИЦИАМТ)) was opened, which is near Dmitrov, Moscow Oblast.

Prototypes

The only period of NAMI vehicles production were 1920s and 1930s. Since then the NAMI vehicles are exclusively prototypes and concept cars. List of them from 1950s to 1980s:

• 1928–1930 – NAMI-1
• 1932 – NATI-2
• 1933 – NATI-3
• 1935 – NATI-YaG-10
• 1936 – NATI-V-3
• 1937 – NATI-K1 - based on ZiS-6
• 1938 – NATI-A
• 1939 – NATI-23A - based on ZiS-5
• 1941 – NATI-K2 – based on ZiS-5, led to the ZiS-32
• 1949 – NAMI-012 - based on YAZ-200; the only Russian truck powered by steam
• 1949–1953 – NAMI-013 "Chita"
• 1953 – NAMI-018
• 1955–1956 – NAMI-A50/050 "Belka"- cancelled in favor of ZAZ-965
• 1956 – NAMI-020 - entered production as the Ural-375
• 1956 – NAMI-021 - prototype for Ural-375T
• 1956 or 1957 – NAMI-032G
• 1958 – NAMI-031
• 1958 – NAMI-044 - became the HTZ T-150K
• 1958 – NAMI-048/048A
• 1958 – NAMI-049 "Ogonyok"
• 1958 – NAMI-055/055B – based on Moskvitch 410
• 1958 – NAMI-059
• 1959 – NAMI-041
• 1959 – NAMI-053 "Turbo" – based on ZiL-127
• 1959 – NAMI-055V
• 1959 – NAMI-060
• 1960 – NAMI-074
• 1960–1964 – NAMI-C3
• 1960–1967 – NAMI-058
• 1961 – NAMI-032M - entered production as the LuAZ-967
• 1961 – NAMI-032S
• 1961 – NAMI-049A "Tselina"
• 1962 – SMZ-NAMI-086 "Sputnik"
• 1963 – NAMI-032B - prototype for ZAZ-969
• 1963 – NAMI-076 "Ermak"
• 1964 – NAMI-C4
• 1965 – NAMI-0100
• 1965 – NAMI-0105
• 1965 – NAMI-0106
• 1965 – NAMI-0112
• 1966 – NAMI-032SK
• 1966 – NAMI-0107 "Vasilyok" (Cornflower)
• 1967 – NAMI-0132
• 1968 – NAMI-0127
• 1973 – NAMI-0159 - based on LAZ-696
• 1977 – NAMI-UAZ-469B
• 1979 – NAMI-0143SKhZ
• 1987 – NAMI-0284 "Debyut"
• 1988 – NAMI-0288 "Kompakt"
• 1988–1989 – NAMI-LuAZ-Proto
• 1988–1991 – NAMI-0290 "Apel'sin" (Orange)
• 1989–1991 – NAMI-0286 "Tayfun" (Typhoon)
• 1989 – NAMI-0281
• 1989 – NAMI-0295 "Rus'"
• 1991 – NAMI-0300 "Apel'sin-2"
• 1991 – NAMI "Kompakt-II"
• 1992 – NAMI "Oda" Concept
• 1992–2000 – NAMI-1819 "Umka"
• 1994 – NAMI-2160 "Kentavr"
• 1994 – NAMI "Retro"
• 1995 – NAMI-GAZ "Volga-Prestige"
• 1997–1999 – NAMI "Grenader"
• 1998 – NAMI-UAZ-469 "Huntsman"
• 1999 – NAMI "Tachanka"
• 2006 – NAMI-GAZ "Valdai"

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to NAMI vehicles.