Nysa (van)
Encyclopedia
Van
A van is a kind of vehicle used for transporting goods or groups of people.In British English usage, it can be either specially designed or based on a saloon or sedan car, the latter type often including derivatives with open backs...
was produced in the town of Nysa, Poland
Nysa, Poland
Nysa is a town in southwestern Poland on the Nysa Kłodzka river with 47,545 inhabitants , situated in the Opole Voivodeship. It is the capital of Nysa County. It comprises the urban portion of the surrounding Gmina Nysa, a mixed urban-rural commune with a total population of 60,123 inhabitants...
, from 1958 until 1994. Contrary to the angular Żuk
Zuk
The Żuk was a van and light truck produced in Lublin, Poland, between 1958 and 1998 by FSC. It was based on FSO Warszawa which in turn was a copy of a Soviet passenger car GAZ-M20 Pobeda. The chassis, suspension and engine from FSO Warszawa formed the basis of the Żuk and the Nysa light vans...
van, based on the same chassis parts, the Nysa had rounded body lines, especially the two-part rounded windshield, and was considered more comfortable and a better fit for carrying persons. The basic body variant was a universal van, for cargo or persons, with sliding doors on the right or conventional doors (marked with a letter T - towos). At the rear, most variants had a single door opening to the left side. There existed also variants: a cargo van (letter F - furgon), a minibus
Minibus
A minibus or minicoach is a passenger carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, the word "minibus" is used to describe any full-sized passenger carrying van. Minibuses have a...
(letter M) and an ambulance (letter S), and some others. A rare variant was made in the form of a light truck. At the time, the Nysa was practically the only van-size ambulance used in Poland. Many vans were sold to the Militia
Milicja Obywatelska
Milicja Obywatelska was a state police institution in the People's Republic of Poland. It was created in 1944 by Soviet-sponsored PKWN, effectively replacing the pre-war police force. In 1990 it was transformed back into Policja....
, which was the only form of police during the Communist era in Poland; blue Nysa vans became a kind of "trademark" of the Militia (Militia variants had slide doors on both sides, most had also a two-part door at the rear).
The summit of popularity was in the 1970s, with 18,200 made in 1978. In the 1980s the production decreased. When Poland became a democracy again in 1989 the future was bleak for the Nysa. Development work had been minimal for the past 20 years. Most customers, including the Police, chose more modern, faster and safer vans of Western manufacturers, that became widely imported instead. The production was closed in 1994, after manufacturing 380,575 vehicles.
Both Nysa and its sibling Żuk
Zuk
The Żuk was a van and light truck produced in Lublin, Poland, between 1958 and 1998 by FSC. It was based on FSO Warszawa which in turn was a copy of a Soviet passenger car GAZ-M20 Pobeda. The chassis, suspension and engine from FSO Warszawa formed the basis of the Żuk and the Nysa light vans...
van were heavily based on the Warszawa
Warszawa (car)
Warszawa was a Polish automobile marque manufactured from 1951 to 1973 by the Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych of Warsaw.The Warszawa was the first new-design Polish car built after the Second World War. Warszawas were popular as taxis because of their sturdiness and ruggedness. However, due to their...
, itself a licensed version of the Soviet GAZ-M20 Pobeda
GAZ-M20 Pobeda
The GAZ-M20 "Pobeda" was a passenger car produced in the Soviet Union by GAZ from 1946 until 1958. It was also licensed to Polish Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych.The first Pobeda was developed in the Soviet Union under chief engineer Andrei A. Liphart...
. Among others, it had the same wheelbase and engine. Its transmission and suspension were modified. Early variants of the Nysa were powered by the M20 petrol engine (R4 flathead
Flathead engine
A flathead engine is an internal combustion engine with valves placed in the engine block beside the piston, instead of in the cylinder head, as in an overhead valve engine...
, 2.12 l, 36.8 kW), most common was the newer S21 petrol engine (R4 OHV, 2.12l, 51.5 kW), used from 1964 onward. A big part of production was exported (in some years, 70%), mostly to Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
countries, especially Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, but also to West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
and some Asian and African countries.
In Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
Nysa vans were almost exclusively used as ambulance cars; 777 of them were in use in 1987.
In 1968 the front end styling was changed, and the most numerous model 521/522 entered production, which remained in a largely unchanged form until the end (Nysa 522 had body 10 cm taller).
Nysa models included: N57 (1958), N58 (1958), N59, N60, N61, N63 (not produced), 501 (1964), 503 (not produced) and 521/522 (1968).