Afalina: the mysterious Volga van

The first time I saw this van, it immediately caught my attention, despite being half hidden behind a row of presidential limousines at the Moscow Transport Museum. It could only be photographed from a distance because it had a hydrofoil powered by a propeller at the front.

I found it an interesting vehicle, similar to designs that have been appearing on the internet lately, showing minivans recreated from classic car designs. This van had the same appearance, but it went beyond being an AI-generated image. Clearly related to the Volga, it featured the brand's logo on the side and the front end clearly resembled that of a GAZ 22 Volga. I thought I had seen that van somewhere else before, because it looked a bit like the Barkas B-100s made in the former East Germany.

I wanted to see it more closely, so I decided to return to the museum a couple of weeks later. Although the van was in the final exhibition room, I left the gems from the 1920s to 1940s at the entrance for later and went straight to look for it. Some of the cars had been moved or had left the museum — including the Pobeda taxi that I had photographed at the entrance — so I was eager to find out if the van was still there.

The van was waiting for me in the same place. Although I had been warned not to touch any cars or enter the cordoned-off areas, I asked the security guard for permission to take photos of the rear and sides of the van. Although she didn't speak English and I didn't speak Russian, I understood the 'нет' (no) she said perfectly well. Fortunately, after a few minutes, while I was trying to stand steady in order to take a decent photo without falling into the boat, the lady approached me again, this time accompanied by another guard. She whispered that I could take photos, but only if it remained between us. There wasn't much room for pictures, and the light wasn't the best at that time of day, but at least I was able to go through.

The rear also resembles the back of a Volga, but I couldn't find any badges indicating the model. When I got home, I started searching the internet for information about Volga vans. I finally discovered that it is a unique, handcrafted model. According to what I found out, Alexei Nikitovich, a panel beater for the Soviet Ministry of the Interior, built this original creation in the early 1970s using parts from other vehicles. He took the base of a Latvija RAF 977D van—you can see a similar model that I saw in Chernousovo in the photo—and with parts from a GAZ 22 Volga and many hours of work, he transformed it all into this curious vehicle that some know as the GAZ 22 Afalina.

I found photos online showing that it was in fairly good condition not so long ago. You can find more information about how the different parts of this unique model were cut, shaped and assembled on the website max-models.ru/gaz-raf. The way it is built is reminiscent of the SEAT 600 'Múltiple'. Despite being inspired by its sibling, the FIAT Multipla, that rare Spanish minivan also had a front end made with parts from the 600. Of the few "Múltiple" units that were made, it is not known for certain whether any have survived. At least the Afalina still exists, and hopefully it will one day emerge from obscurity and be restored for display in a museum.

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