Sourced production or model lifecycle range used by the main catalog timeline.
← GAZ
GAZ / Model record
GAZGAZ-12 ZIM
Production1950–1960
Recorded originRussia
ClassAutomobile
Background
The ZIM-12 was a Soviet full-size luxury car produced by the Gorky Automotive Plant (GAZ) from 1950 until 1960. It was the first luxury car produced by GAZ and the first one to have the famous leaping gazelle hood ornament. The car was built to serve high and medium rank Soviet nomenklatura, but was also readily available as a taxi and ambulance. Unlike its successors, ZIM was the only Soviet executive class full-size car that was actually made available for private ownership. A total of 21,527 examples were built.
Text adapted from “GAZ-12 ZIM” on Wikipedia ↗ · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗ · retrieved 2026-07
Chronology ledger
Dates with their meaning intact
Production chronology1950–1960
Wikipedia lead ↗11 years