The History of Creation

«KhADI-1» is the first record-racing car designed by KhAHI students. The car was made of available components with a motorcycle engine M-72. The calculated maximum speed was 150 km/h. The car was made according to    L. Kononov's project. He was helped by his fellow students L. Komarov,        V. Litovko, I. Bovtachenko. V.K. Nikitin was a consultant.

L. Kononov is famous in the automobile area as a creator of the first cart car in the Soviet Union. Lev Sergeievich Kononov (19.09.1927 – 02.07.1967) was a sport coach in carting from Kursk, the founder of the youth carting in the USSR. He was born in Tambov. In 1934 he moved to Kursk , there he finished compulsory school № 11, got fond of engineering modeling. In 1947 he left vocational school with the speciality of a fitter, turner, miller and welder. He worked on the truck at one of the motor depots of Kursk, then he entered Kursk railway technical college and attended the amateur flying club in the evenings. He is a graduate of Kharkiv Automobile and Highway Institute. During the study he was the member of the team that created a racing car «KhADI-1», driving which he set up a record of Ukraine in the racing for 5 km. In 1958 L. Kononov organized an experimental laboratory of micro-cars in Kursk House of Pioneers. Under his guidance the children constructed mini cars «Kursk» and «Sputnik» and a tourist mini bus «Tovarishch». In 1960 L. Kononov designed the first in the USSR sport mini car for children «Cart». In 1967 he supervised training of the National Team of the RSFSR to the 4th sports festival of the USSR peoples, he was appointed the coach of the National Team of the Soviet Union in carting. He died suddenly during the competition in carting in Kursk.