The problem with Eastern Bloc cars was not the lack of creativity or the skill of the their designers but rather political red tape. There were no budgets, no tooling, no R&D, no nothing. The engineers were told by clueless politicians to do this and that, and that was it. That didn’t stop those engineers from being creative and make lemonade from the rotten lemons that they had. While there were not many exciting new production vehicles, Poland’s FSO did have a few interesting prototypes, such as the above pictured 4×4 wagon. FSO was making the Polski Fiat 125p kombi (wagon). Somehow, some way, the Warsaw factory managed to get a new Soviet Lada Niva, or at least parts thereof. Being that the Niva is based on a Fiat chassis, bolting up Niva’s 4×4 drivetrain was something that was probably rather simple. The end result was this awesome 4×4 wagon, an AMC Eagle-like creature. To say that I love this would be an understatement. Hit the jump for more pics. All images came from Facebook’s Eastern Bloc cars group. Make to check it out and join. New, wider rear fender flares were molded. Looks like the tire is low. The suspension also seems higher than a Niva, perhaps taller coil springs were used. Look at that groud clearance and those approach/departure angles, I’d bet this would give a ’77 Range Rover a run for its money. Maybe. Niva wheels and proper off-road tires. The steering wheel looks like it’s turned 180 degrees. The tach was in the upper right of dash panel. Note the levers for low-range and locking diffs (I think).