The GAZ 2308 Ataman is a Russian off-road vehicle produced by GAZ from 1995 to 2001. It was developed as a utility vehicle intended for both civilian and institutional use and was one of several new models introduced by GAZ during the post-Soviet period. It was GAZ's first factory pick-up truck since the 1940s GAZ M415.
Firstly released in 1995 as the GAZ-2307, it was a body-on frame pickup that shared it's front suspension, wheels and tires, rear axle, engine and gearbox with the GAZ-31029 Volga while the cab came from the GAZ-3307 truck. Only a pick-up prototype was built, although a wide range of versions, including vans and tippers, was to be produced. These were to be produced in both rear and front-wheel drive versions, but in reality only this real-wheel drive GAZ-2307 pickup prototype was ever built. In 1996, GAZ decided to turn the concept into an all-wheel drive pickup, with otherwise minimal changes, and rename it GAZ-2308 "Ataman".http://www.denisovets.ru/gaz/gazpages/gaz2307.html
The Ataman featured a body-on-frame construction and a four-wheel-drive system. Most examples were produced as two-door pickup trucks, although a number of derivative versions and prototypes were also developed, including station wagon and special-purpose variants. The vehicle used components from other GAZ models and was offered with both gasoline and diesel engines paired with a five-speed manual transmission.
Production of the GAZ 2308 Ataman remained limited throughout its production run. The model was discontinued in 2001 and was not replaced by a direct successor.
References