Zbignevas Kivertas, the engineer behind the motor in the Lada VFTS, passed away earlier this month. His wake took place on Tuesday at the Olandų Funeral Home in Vilnius.

The Lada VFTS was a Group B rally car built by the Vilnius Factory of Vehicles (Vilniusskaja Fabrika Transportnych Sredstv in Russian, hence the abbreviation; Lithuania was under Soviet occupation at the time) and based on the Lada 2105. Kivertas was responsible for the 1,596cc overhead camshaft engine, which was capable of producing 130 to 150 horsepower. VFTS later developed a more powerful 1,860cc turbocharged motor that could also work in Group B rally cars.

Like Estonia in Formula Easter, the VFTS was another racing monster from the Baltics. While the Russian-produced Ladas had already been competing in rallies and raids, the Lithuanian rally car hoped to be an entirely different beast altogether. The Iron Curtain still being up meant it never competed in WRC, but still smashed its competition left and right in domestic competition. Today, it is eligible for FIA historic rallies.

Before racing, Kivertas was an accomplished ski jumper who represented Lithuania in the Spartakiad.

Even after lada, he continued to help rally drivers with building engines.

Featured image credit: via Tsk Racing’as