The RAF-2203 Latvija (nickname ''Rafik'') was a

cabover Cab-over, also known as cab over engine (COE), cab forward (U.S.), flat nose (Canada), or forward control (UK), is a body style of truck, bus, or van that has a vertical front, "flat face" or a semi-hood, with the cab of the truck sitting ab ...

van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across t ...

designed and developed by Rīgas Autobusu Fabrika from 1976 to 1997. They were widely used throughout the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

fixed-run taxi ''Marshrutka''marshrutka ''Marshrutka''medical car An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to med ...

s, used for trade and as a special services vehicles. It was the successor of the RAF-977. This

used the engine of the

GAZ-24 The GAZ-24 "Volga" is a car manufactured by the Gorky Automobile Plant (Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod, GAZ) from 1970 to 1985 as a generation of its Volga marque. A largely redesigned version (practically, a new car in a modified old body) – GA ...

, between the front seats, making its construction similar to other competing vans such as the

Dodge A100 The A100 is a range of compact vans and trucks manufactured and marketed from 1964 to 1970 by Chrysler Corporation under the Dodge marque in the United States and the Fargo marque in Canada. The A100 competed with the Ford Econoline and Che ...

and the

Volkswagen LT The Volkswagen Transporter LT is the largest light commercial panel van produced by Volkswagen (and subsequently Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles as of 1996) from 1975 to 2006, before being replaced by the Crafter. Two generations were produc ...

, with independent front suspension also from the GAZ-24 (but springs from the

GAZ-13 The GAZ-13 Chaika (Seagull) is an automobile manufactured by the Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod ( GAZ, Gorky Automobile Plant) from 1959 to 1981 as a generation of its Chaika marque. It is famously noted for its styling which resembled 1950s Packar ...

). It borrowed

headlight A headlamp is a lamp (electrical component), lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the road ahead. Headlamps are also often called headlights, but in the most precise usage (language), usage, ''headlamp'' is the term for the ...

s and brake system parts from the Moskvitch 412, outside door handles from the Moskvitch 408, and wheels of the GAZ-21 Volga. The single rear door hinged at the top, rather than the more-usual side-opening. There were two major models: one, the 2203, seated ten plus driver and passenger, powered by a with 8.2:1 compression; the other, the 22032, a twelve-seat "route taxi", had longitudinal seats and lower 6.7:1 compression (to use more readily available 76 octane petrol), and produced only . (The 2203-02 would run on liquified propane). An

ambulance An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...

, the 22031, was soon added to the range, and made up fully a third of all 2203s built; there was also a 22035 for

blood donor clinic Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in th ...

s. These were joined by the 22034, for

fire department A fire department (American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in th ...

In addition to the uncommon 22033 and 22036 for state

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non- professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

s, there were prototype electric vehicles. While the 2203 looked good, it was susceptible to rust, especially in the frame rails, and was unpleasant to drive in bad weather. Quality control of the assembly was also poor. Oil leaks and axle bearing failures were frequent. It also suffered overheating, serious vibration issues, failures of front suspension parts leading to poor handling, and high fuel consumption. On top of it all, access to the cab was difficult, despite the forward-control position.Thompson, p.198. After

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

went bankrupt, production was picked up by

GAZ GAZ or Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (russian: ГАЗ or Го́рьковский автомоби́льный заво́д, , Gorky Automobile Plant) is a Russian automotive manufacturer located in Nizhny Novgorod, formerly known as Gorky (Го� ...

, who quickly replaced it with the

GAZelle A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . This article also deals with the seven species included in two further genera, ''Eudorcas'' and '' Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third ...

Variants

* RAF-2203 Latvija – 4x2 4dr

, 1976 * RAF-2203 Latvija elivery– 4x2 4dr

delivery van A panel van, also known as a blind van, car-derived van (United Kingdom) or sedan delivery (United States), is a small cargo vehicle with a passenger car chassis, typically with a single front bench seat and no side windows behind the B-pillar. ...

* RAF-2203 Latvija ardiology– 4x2 4dr cardiac

* RAF-2203 Latvija ire– 4x2 4dr

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

minivan Minivan (sometimes called simply as van) is a North American car classification for vehicles designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row(s), with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows. The equivalent classification in Europe i ...

* RAF-2203 Latvija GAI – 4x2 4dr

police van A police van (also known as a paddy wagon, meat wagon, divisional van, patrol van, patrol wagon, police wagon, Black Mariah/Maria, police carrier, or in old-fashioned usage, pie wagon) is a type of vehicle operated by police forces. Police vans ...

* RAF-2203 Latvija

ail Ail or AIL may refer to: * Illness, a state of poor health * Ail (''Sailor Moon''), a character in the ''Sailor Moon'' anime series * Acceptance in lieu, an arrangement in the UK for accepting works of art etc. in lieu of tax * Agilus, a Frankis ...

– 4x2 4dr mail van * RAF-2203 Latvija

axi AXI or ''variation'', may refer to: * Automated X-ray inspection * Advanced eXtensible Interface of ARM for Advanced Microcontroller Bus Architecture (AMBA) * AXI car, the right-hand-drive version of the DMC DeLorean * Aeron International Airlines ...

– 4x2 4dr taxi

* RAF-2203 Latvija VAI – 4x2 4dr military

* RAF-22031 Latvija – 4x2 4dr

* RAF-2907 – special car based on RAF-2203

Gallery

РАФ-2203 "Латвия".JPG, RAF-2203 РАФ-2203.jpg, RAF-2203 РАФ-2203 Лаборатория.jpg, RAF-2203 Автомобиль скорой медицинской помощи РАФ-22031 из коллекции музея автомобильной техники УГМК.jpg, RAF-22031 RAF-2915-02 1.jpg, RAF-2915-02 RAF-22038.jpg, RAF-22038 РАФ-22038-21.jpg, РАФ-22038-021 RAF-2914.jpg, RAF-2914 RAF-2909 2.jpg, RAF-2909 Kiev-UkrainianNationalChernobylMuseum 02.jpg, RAF-2203 (far right) that was used during the liquidation procedure of the

Chernobyl Disaster The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 nuclear reactor, reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainia ...

Микроавтобус РАФ-2203 (реплика автомобиля ГАИ СССР).jpg, RAF-2203 RAF-2203 Latvija model van (4).JPG, RAF-2203 1:43

die-cast toy A die-cast toy is a toy or a collectible model produced by using the die-casting method of putting molten lead, zinc alloy or plastic in a mold to produce a particular shape. Such toys are made of metal, with plastic, rubber, glass, or other ...

References

{{Commons category, RAF-2203 1970s cars 1980s cars 1990s cars Riga Autobus Factory vehicles Vans Minibuses Taxi vehicles Ambulances Cab over vehicles Police vehicles Buses of the Soviet Union Vehicles introduced in 1976 Motor vehicles manufactured in Latvia