By The European Times | Created at 2026-09-02 05:51:34 | Updated at 2026-09-02 07:02:49
1 hour ago
During the Soviet era, the then Union Republic of Estonia had its own automobile factory called TARZ (Tartu Auto Repair Plant), which produced trucks and buses under the TA brand. But in addition to this conventional production (and of course the Estonia track racing cars), many other vehicle prototypes were designed and built there that still impress today. Among them is the experimental ET-800 Electra minibus, which, in addition to its futuristic design, also went down in history as the first hybrid car created in the former Soviet Union.
The background to this project begins in the mid-1960s in Tallinn. At the same time, the automobile designer Roman Bertelov, who worked at one of the enterprises in the city, designed a small light truck with an engine from a ZAZ-966 and a fiberglass body, called the ET-600. In the period 1967-1970, a pilot batch of about 40 units was made of it, but for a number of reasons, the planned serial production was not carried out. Not long after, Bertelov developed an original project for a hybrid vehicle called the ET-800 “Electra”. This is an eight-seater passenger van with a stylish plastic body, which is powered by a gasoline engine from a ZAZ-966, combined with a standard electric motor from a tram. Roman Bertelov designed the body and chassis (which is very similar to that of the ET-600), while Vadim Pitersky constructed the complex and innovative electrical system. The generator is equipped with a 24-volt direct current rectifier, and the rear wheels are driven by a 28 kW electric motor. A 400-kilogram nickel-cadmium battery is installed between the front seats. The car is controlled using a standard steering wheel and two pedals – brake and gas. The transmission has three positions: forward, reverse and neutral. The instrument panel includes a speedometer, tachometer, voltmeter and ammeter. The ET-800 can travel 80 kilometers on a single charge at a maximum speed of 60 km/h. At speeds above 60 km/h, the gasoline engine is turned on, which also charges the battery during operation. One of the first identified shortcomings of the hybrid minibus is that it accelerates too sharply, and in order to become more controllable on the road, a complete redesign of the control system was required.
The date chosen for the first official presentation of the ET-800 to the public was April 22, 1970, when the centenary of Lenin’s birth was celebrated. During its presentation in Moscow, the car made a large demonstration tour of the central streets, and in addition to Bertelov, who was driving it, the Estonian Prime Minister Walter Clauson, the Minister of the Electrical Industry of the USSR Alexei Antonov and several other officials were riding in it. After this peculiar test, the prototype was approved, and it seems that it could go into mass production.
However, Clauson opposed it, since in his opinion Estonia was not able to create a center for the development of electric vehicles, because it did not have the necessary conditions, and attracting workers and specialists from other Soviet republics was not in the country’s interests. In the meantime, the tests continued for about a month, as a result of which defects were discovered in the electrical system. According to the designer, the main problem was the low efficiency of the battery, which was also prone to overheating.
