The History of Creation

«KhADI-4» was the second record setting car design developed by       V.K. Nikitin in the Laboratory of racing cars of KhAHI in 1962. The car belonged to the class of 8th group (up to 3000 cm3) and was equipped with an engine of own design based on the «GAZ-20» cylinder block. In general, «KhADI-4» was developed according to the design which was a logical continuation of Vladimir Nikitin's previous designs: medium engine assembly work with a driver seat ahead and a unit-power plant joined to the main transmission of a drive shaft; a car frame is a welded girder frame made of pipes with a large diameter (90 mm). The distinctive feature of the design was the implementation of frame tubes into the engine cooling system (front part) and the lubrication system (rear part). The body panels (a one-piece upper body part and a smooth body bottom) were made of fiberglass; their form was developed by testing in the wind tunnel carried out in the collaboration with the Kharkiv Aviation Plant. The engine had a specific design based on the «GAZ-20» bored cylinder unit. Such advanced solutions for that time as the direct fuel injection and the installation of two spark plugs per cylinder were applied in it. The compression ratio was increased up to 8.83 and the methanol was used as a fuel. The lubrication was implemented by a dry crankcase. The engine was equipped with a gyrating supercharger increasing its output up to about 200 horsepower. The gear shift transmission was used on the base series-production one from the «GAZ-20». The quick-change gear wheels were applied in the main gear and the brakes were only on the rear wheels. The calculated speed of  «KhADI-4» was about 300 km / h.