AvtoVAZ and GAZ have always been the most popular cars in the USSR and Russia. Some even believe that the automobile industry began with them, but this is certainly not true.
In 1896, the first Russian serial automobile was presented in Nizhny Novgorod, which was named the “Frese and Yakovlev Automobile”.
It didn’t look like modern cars, but for its time it was a very interesting and competitive model.
Like many projects in the automotive industry, it had a very interesting history with its ups and downs.
Briefly
Who created the car?
Peter Frese left, Evgeny Yakovlev right
Many car brands are named after their creators, and Frese and Yakovlev’s car is no exception. Nobody thought about the concept of the brand back then, so the name actually includes the word car, so that there is an understanding of what is being discussed.
The car was created by two Russian industrialists and inventors: Peter Frese and Evgeny Yakovlev.
Briefly about each
︎ Pyotr Frese was born in 1844 in St. Petersburg. He belonged to a noble family whose members were engaged in mining.
In 1874, he founded a horse-drawn carriage company, which later began producing carriages for the Emperor and his family.
︎ Evgeny Yakovlev was born in 1857 in the St. Petersburg province. From 1875 to 1884, he served in the navy, rising to the rank of lieutenant.
In 1884 he was “dismissed from service due to domestic circumstances” and began studying internal combustion engines. In 1891 he launched a factory where he produced his own engines.
Entrepreneurs met in Chicago. They arrived to the 1893 World’s Fair, which is still considered one of the largest in history.
Benz Velo
They came to the exhibition as participants. Frese brought cart samples to the USA, and Yakovlev brought his own engines. Both inventors received a bronze medal in Chicago.
They met at the Benz pavilion, where the Benz Victoria and Velo were on display. At the time, these were among the first commercially successful cars.
Frese and Yakovlev decided that they should release a similar car, but with some improvements.
How long did it take to develop the machine?
It is unknown when exactly the project started.
But in 1894, Emperor Alexander III announced the All-Russian Industrial Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod, which was to take place in 1896, and Frese and Yakovlev decided to participate in it.
The details of their joint work are also unknown. But already In the spring of 1896 the car was readythe first tests began in May, and on July 14 the official presentation took place at the All-Russian Industrial Exhibition.
A newspaper in Russian and German that told about Yakovlev’s Frese car
Here’s how described automobile journalist Vladimir Anfilov in the magazine “Samokat”, issue 123 of May 11, 1896:
A mechanical carriage is driving around the outskirts of St. Petersburg. Its passengers claim to be the manufacturers and almost the inventors of this machine and swear that every last screw in the carriage was made by them in their own workshop.
Vladimir Anfilov, journalist
Later, other newspapers wrote about Frese and Yakovlev’s cars.
What surprised me about the car
The car looked like a Benz Velo, but it was not a copy. Frese and Yakovlev used original components and made many design changes.
It was a classic convertible phaeton of the time, seating two people. Frese was responsible for the body, wheels and chassis, while Yakovlev made the engine and transmission..
The engine had a power of 2 hp and allowed to develop a maximum speed of 20 km/h. For comparison, the Benz Velo initially had a 1.5 hp engine. Subsequently, the power was increased to 3.5 hp.
Yakovlev engine was easierthan Benz. In addition, Yakovlev added evaporative cooling system. When the engine was running, the water was constantly boiling, the steam entered the condenser, where it cooled and condensed into water. But some of the water evaporated.
The car was equipped with two tanks for storing water, with a combined capacity of 30 liters.
The car had a rear-wheel drive design. Torque from the engine to the wheels was transmitted through two chains, which were connected by an intermediate shaft with pulleys attached to it.
The gearbox had only two gears: forward (D) and neutral (N). The fuel supply was enough for 200 km.
In terms of its characteristics, Frese and Yakovlev’s car was a competitor to the Benz Velo. And this was the world’s first serial four-wheeled car by Karl Benz, so the quality level was very high.
How much did the car cost?
The inventors valued their machine at 1500 rubles. This is approximately Rs 2.5 lakh at the current exchange rate.
A mechanical carriage, similar in appearance to an ordinary phaeton, but driven by a small gasoline engine, this carriage is valued at 1,500 rubles and can travel up to 20 miles (21 km – iPhones.ru note) per hour on the highway.
The Caspian newspaper, August 27, 1896
The price tag was not small, but the car cost half as much as its German and French counterparts. However, only very rich people could afford it. A horse then cost 50 rubles, and the average worker’s salary was 25 rubles a month. There was no talk of any loans, and production worked only on order.
It is not known how many cars were produced. The only thing that can be said is that demand was small. This is partly due to the reaction of Nicholas II, who visited Nizhny Novgorod exhibition and saw the first Russian car myself.
There’s nothing to see, it’s better abroad.
Nicholas II, an entry from his diary
For the engine and crew, Yakovlev and Frese were awarded only silver medals at the exhibition. Major newspapers did not write about their invention.
When production ended
After the exhibition, engineers continued to improve the car, but Yakovlev died in 1898. His heirs did not want to work on cars, so Frese was effectively left alone with the project.
There were no similar Russian engines at that time, so Frese began to buy engines and gearboxes in France and install them in his cars.
Despite this, the car was still bought. From 1901 to 1903 Frese company produced about a hundred passenger carsbut they were no longer entirely Russian. The enterprise can be considered successful, because Frese later opened factories in Moscow and Warsaw.
In 1901, Frese introduced the first Russian truck. Its load capacity was 960 kg. In 1903, the company produced the first mail van, and in 1904, the first fire engine.
It is believed that the decision to produce a fire engine was made after a fire in the St. Petersburg Post Office in 1904. At that time, all Frese postal vehicles burned in the fire; they had been produced six months before the incident.
In 1910, Frese sold his factory to the Riga company Russo-Balt. At that time, he was 66 years old. He spent the remaining 8 years of his life on his estate in the Tver region.
What cars have survived?
Lyubov Elizavetina’s car
Unfortunately, today only one Frese Yakovlev car remains, and even it cannot be called a full-fledged one.
Im owns art critic Lyubov Elizavetina. She bought the car in the late 90s. According to her, it belonged to reenactor Spartak Grigoryan, who was restoring the car in the 80s, but did not manage to finish the work.
It took 23 years to restore the car. The project was finished only in 2023. Many body parts had to be replaced. An electric motor was installed instead of a gasoline engine, and other technical components were taken from 20th century cars.
Now this car can be seen at various auto shows and museums.
Also in 1996, three replicas of the car were created at the Scientific and Technical Center of the Autoreview magazine. One of them is on display at the Polytechnic Museum of Moscow.
Impact on the Automotive Industry
Although Frese and Yakovlev’s car was not continued, it still left its mark on history. And not only as the first serial Russian car.
Using his developments, Frese was able to produce many of the first technical vehicles in Russia, which did not lag behind Western competitors in their technical characteristics.
In addition, this Frese and Yakovlev car remained the only serial one in pre-revolutionary Russia. In the future, the automobile industry developed under Soviet rule.
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Source: www.iphones.ru
