Russia plans the 'Kalashnikov Lada'

MOSCOW: Russia's biggest carmaker plans to make a high-tech version of the Soviet-era Lada car that will be named after the creator of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, the Vedomosti business daily said on Wednesday.

"We will probably work... to create a military jeep," said the head of arms trader Rosoboronexport, Sergei Chemezov, quoted by the paper.

"Then we will call it 'Kalashnikov'," the paper quoted Chemezov as telling Mikhail Kalashnikov, the 86-year-old designer of the popular gun, at a ceremony last week.

Rosoboronexport owns a controlling stake in Avtovaz, the manufacturer of the Lada family car that was built in Soviet times and remains popular here. 

More than 100 million Kalashnikov rifles -- known for their reliability and widely used by guerrilla fighters -- have been sold around the world since mass production began in 1947.

The car would be an armoured version of the Soviet-era Lada and would be equipped with night vision equipment, Vedomosti quoted a source close to the Kremlin as saying. 

The 'Kalashnikov Lada', as Vedomosti has nicknamed the project, could join a growing list of items that have used the Kalashnikov brand, including umbrellas, knives and watches.

Vedomosti suggested the new car could be Russia's answer to the United States' Hummer, a vehicle originally designed for army use that is now a rich city-dweller's status symbol and is increasingly popular on the streets of Moscow.