BAZ MNA
Brown BAZ MNA 900 at the Bratislava Transport Museum (Bratislava, Slovakia)
The BAZ MNA was the internal designation for a project to build a small commercial vehicle (the name stands for “Malý Nákladný Automobil,” or small cargo vehicle) weighing up to 3.5 tons, developed by the VMV development department of BAZ (Bratislava Automobile Works) in the 1980s. It had two development stages, the MNA 900 and the MNA 1000, with the number indicating the payload in kilograms.
MNA 900
Several prototypes were built, at least one of them a 4×4, and they differed not only in body style but also in drivetrain and interior. One prototype was powered by the Škoda 781 OHV engine intended for the future Favorit, but its driving characteristics lagged well behind another prototype powered by the Lada 1500 engine.
By the mid-1980s, it was clear that AZNP could not afford, technically or financially, to start production of the new 780.15 engine. The outdated Favorit engine, which dated back to the Škoda 1000 MB, was too weak for a van with a 900 kg payload. This repeated the problem of the earlier M8 project, so BAZ looked abroad and, in 1988, it was reported that the MNA would continue in cooperation with the Soviet automaker AZLK. AZLK was building new engine plants and planned its own minivan, the Arbat, so a partnership with BAZ and its finished, modern van promised to benefit both sides. But the authorities pressed BAZ to supply parts for the Favorit rather than speed up MNA production, and the launch date kept slipping, eventually to early 1992.
MNA 1000
Despite the social and political changes that began at the end of 1989, work on the MNA continued. The prototypes were fitted with new AZLK engines driving the front wheels. They appeared in 1991 as a two-seat van and an eight-seat minibus.
Of the several factors that led to the end of PVÚ (VMV) BAZ and its MNA 1000 project, the most decisive was the sale of the parent plant in Devínska Nová Ves to Volkswagen. Unfortunately, the MNA did not fit into VW’s portfolio, because its new front-wheel-drive T4 van was just entering series production (1991). AZLK still tried to take over the project as the Moskvich 3733, but the social, political, and economic situation in Russia in the 1990s was not favorable. The MNA project at BAZ was finally stopped in 1992. According to available data, only 4 prototypes were built.
White BAZ MNA 1000
Characteristics
Manufacturer: Bratislavské Automobilové Závody (BAZ)
Assembly: Bratislava (Czechoslovakia)
Years of production: 1985—1992
Engine: 4 cylinders; 1580 cc
Power: 85 HP
Max speed: 130 km/h
Fuel consumption: 11 l/100 km
Weight: 1200 kg
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