The "super bulletproof" car that once carried President Ho Chi Minh

Ho Chi Minh was a leader who lived a rare simple life. Therefore, it was not important to him what kind of car he drove. However, on special business trips, there were still special armored vehicles used to protect President Ho. ZIS-115.

ZIS-115 was presented by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union to the Central Committee of the Vietnam Workers' Party in 1954. This was a special armored vehicle used to protect President Ho Chi Minh and comrades in the Central Party Politburo when they went on business trips from 1954 to 1972.

The ZIS-115, produced by the Soviet Union in 1950.

The ZIS-115 was the passion of the former head of the Soviet state – Stalin. He was the first among Soviet leaders to choose a car with good bulletproof capabilities. In 1935, the Moscow Stalin Automobile Plant (abbreviated as ZIS) began producing official cars for Stalin and Politburo members.

The ZIS-115 armored version was produced from 1946 to 1947, and only 32 left the production line. The original car was the ZIS-110. The armored ZIS-110 was called the ZIS-115, and so it was basically the same as the original. The biggest changes were the addition of fog lights, two modern warning lights, large tires, and specially designed windows so that people outside could not see inside, but people inside could see outside clearly.

The interior of the cockpit is also designed with very special details. A large radius leather steering wheel with small concentric steel rings, typical of the steering wheels on Soviet cars of that period. The dashboard is very different from today when using a horizontal speedometer, with even km indicators. The control buttons are mechanical circular and rotary.

The driver's seat is one piece, not separated by a gear lever like modern cars today. Because the car's body is up to 8mm thick, the door system, door latches, and windows are very massive. To raise the windows, you have to use a lever to raise and lower them. The small front shutters are also turned mechanically to adjust. Because it is a car for transporting heads of state and officials, the rear compartment is very spacious with luxurious leather seats. The people sitting in the back have a lot of legroom. When they need to discuss private matters, the people sitting in the back can turn the windows, creating a partition between the driver's compartment and the passenger compartment.

The ZIS-115 body is 2m wide, 6.1m long, covered with 8mm thick bulletproof steel and 70mm thick glass, capable of withstanding bullets and fragments of small arms. The chassis is reinforced with thick bulletproof steel to deal with underground mines. The vehicle weighs 4280 kg. The vehicle uses an 8-cylinder engine with a capacity of 140 horsepower. The vehicle's speed is 120km/h, fuel consumption is 27.5 liters/100km.

Currently, the ZIS-115 that once carried President Ho is still on display at the Vietnam Revolution Museum.

According to AutoDaily/PL&XH -VP