GAZ-16: Why the Soviet Hovercraft Disappeared from History

In 1962, engineers at the Gorky Automobile Plant (known for Russian initials as GAZ) decided that roads were yesterday's solution. They built a machine that ignored friction and gravel surfaces. It did not roll — it hovered. The GAZ-16 was an ambitious leap into a future where swamps, rivers, and snowfields turned into high-speed highways. Yet instead of triumph, the project faded into obscurity. A Radical Idea Built on Familiar Foundations The Soviet Union of the 1960s was full of contrasts: while some developed secret Arctic vehicles, others struggled through impassable rural mud. The GAZ-16 was designed not for parades, but as a response to the chronic lack of roads. Engineers used the body of the iconic GAZ-21 Volga as a base, stripping it down into a futuristic air-cushion platform. Centrifugal fans pumped air beneath the chassis, creating pressure that lifted the 1.5-ton machine about 15 centimeters above the ground.