FSO Warszawa

The FSO Warszawa is an automobile manufactured by FSO factory in Warsaw, Poland between 1951 and 1973, based on GAZ-M20 Pobeda.
The Warszawa was the first newly designed car built in Poland after the World War II. Warszawas were popular as taxis because of their sturdiness and ruggedness. However, they were underpowered for their weight and had high fuel consumption. In total, 254,471 cars were made.
Named after Poland's capital city Warsaw, the Warszawa was until 1957 identical to the Soviet Pobeda, built under license, which was given to Poland by GAZ at Joseph Stalin's insistence. The engine was the same, side-valve M-20 unit of 2. 1 L as used in the Pobeda, producing 50 hp. Exports of the car started in 1954 to countries such as Romania, China, Bulgaria and Albania. In 1956 work began on the development of a new four-speed gearbox. However, it failed in practice and its development was suspended. In the same year, work began on an overhead valve engine that could be used to drive the car. This engine was a copy of the Étendard engine used on the Renault Frégate, and started being put on Warszawa models in 1962. The first major modernization took place in 1957. The new model was called FSO Warszawa M20 model 57, but not long after its name was changed to Warszawa 200. The new model received a restyled front-end section. The powertrain was modified too, the compression ratio was raised from 6. 2:1 to 6. 8:1 and maximum power crept up to 52 hp....