Rare Soviet-era 4x4 goes where others can't in UAE

In terms of desirable vehicles to own, the Russian-made UAZ Hunter is unlikely to feature on many people’s wishlists. The 4x4 has been in production since the 1960s and has barely evolved since.

If you squint hard enough, you could mistake it for a 1990s Range Rover – all angular, like it’s been built with Lego bricks. Its interior hasn’t made the leap to the modern day, either.

You won’t find much in the way of in-car entertainment or the driving aids that make a lot of today’s vehicles so easy to manoeuvre. This is a throwback off-roader for purists.

Despite all of this, the UAZ Hunter still draws a crowd. Just ask Dubai car collector Nave Lev Ran.

“If I arrive in a Lamborghini, nobody would care,” notes Lev Ran, “but this gets attention everywhere I go.”

The business relationship developer is the proud owner of a 2017 UAZ Hunter, Lev Ran was given the car as a gift, and it has been a big part of his life since. Although the UAZ looks like a relic, people love taking photos and videos of it.

QuoteIf I arrive in a Lamborghini, nobody would care, but this gets attention everywhere I goNave Lev Ran

There’s a certain degree of street cred that goes along with the vehicle. It even has Lev Ran’s son stamp of approval. “I dropped him off at school one day and there was a teacher stood outside who said: ‘What a cool car.’ Ever since, my son has asked me to take him in it.”

To the layperson, a UAZ Hunter might seem like an odd choice, but Lev Ran has long admired the car from afar. He never thought he’d get a chance to drive one, let alone own it.

Road less travelled

Growing up on a farm, Lev Ran has been around off-road vehicles his entire life. From World War-era Willys Jeeps to Suzuki motorbikes, he has a deep-seated attraction to the art of getting off-the-beaten-track motors.

“Learning to drive an off-road vehicle properly is a joy and this [UAZ Hunter] is fun,” Lev Ran says. “It takes me back to my teens and 20s.

“It’s not like the new cars with automatic transmissions with all the gadgets that can help; you really need to know what you are doing.”

It wasn’t exactly love at first sight, though. This 2017 UAZ Hunter had been sat for a long time and a lot of the