Spriditis

The minibus "Spriditis" (Spriditis) in Latvian means the boy who went seeking happiness (analogous to Tom Thumb) — a small, nimble, indomitable fairy-tale hero.

That's what the Riga bus builders named their new microbus.

Indeed, the "Sprīdītis" is quite small: its length is 4.4 m, width 1.8 m, and height 2 m; it is shorter than the "Pobeda" car and only slightly wider and taller than it. The bus is very maneuverable and easy to handle. Drivers of other cars often look after the "Sprīdītis" in surprise when it easily pulls ahead at intersections as soon as the green traffic light comes on.

The body of the "Sprīdītis" bus is all-metal, load-bearing, of a wagon type. It accommodates, in addition to the driver, 8 passengers: one to the right of the driver, two in the second row, three in the third row, and two in the fourth. There are two passenger doors (on the right side), one luggage door at the rear, and a door for the driver. If necessary, the rear two-seater seat can be quickly removed, and then the bus forms a sufficient area for luggage and six passengers.

In the lower part of the half-partition separating the driver from the passenger compartment is a body heater. In the front part, under the ceiling, there is an air duct through which fresh air enters the body, taken through openings in the visor above the windshield.

The bus is equipped with an overhead valve "Moskvich-407" engine with a standard clutch and gearbox. All other components and assemblies are also standard, but in the rear axle of the "Moskvich-407" car, wheel gears with normal cylindrical gears having a gear ratio of 1:1.45 are installed instead of supporting brake discs.

This design solution provides a maximum bus speed of 80 km/h, which is high enough for urban conditions, and a quite satisfactory fuel consumption of 12-13 liters/100 km. The springs of the "Volga" car are attached to the wheel gears. The front suspension is also borrowed from the "Volga", but with additional coil springs inside the standard springs. The wheels, tires, and brake actuator are used from the "Volga" car.

In 1960, it is planned to produce 1000 buses.