I own the ‘worst car in history' that's comically cheap from 80s but I LOVE it – I can't wait for its dramatic comeback

The Irish Sun

06-06-2025

AN OWNER of a ridiculously cheap car from the 1980s considered to be the 'worst in history' says he actually loves it.
The Yugo 45 was a small car that was built in the former Yugoslavia and picked up the unfortunate moniker over the years.
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Despite its faults Allan Smyes loves his Yugo 45
Credit: Allan Smyes
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Allan hopes the car will make a successful comeback when the car gets relaunched
Credit: Allan Smyes
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Allan says the interior is like a Caramac bar
Credit: Allan Smyes
Allan Smyes, 50, picked up his model five years ago and is now hoping the vehicle will make a dramatic comeback as Yugo Automobile is set for a relaunch before the end of the decade.
Allan, who lives just outside York, is the proud owner of a 1988 Zastava Yugo 45.
The model was first available in 1981 and cost around £3,000 at the time.
It's cheap price meant it undercut it main rivals like the Austin Mini Metro, Ford Fiesta and the Vauxhall Nova.
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It was known for its low quality construction, safety concerns and reliability issues, making it the cheapest car between 1981 and 1991.
However, this affordability still did not enable the Yugo to become a successful or popular car for the long run.
In the initial years it was available in the UK, Zastava sold around 3,000
models
every year, going on to sell tens of thousands, largely due to the low cost.
Around 794,428 Yugos in total were produced, but only a fraction of these were sold in Britain.
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By 2018, just 19 remained on the road, according to official registrations data.
The car might not be such a rare sight on British roads for too much longer.
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The return of the vehicle comes as part of a project by Serbian university professor, Dr Alekasandar Bjelić, who hopes to bring the car back to the market for 2027.
Dr Bjelić is linked to the automotive industry in Germany, and unveiled his 1:5-scale vision for what the Yugo could look like soon.
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This new design for the Yugo was debuted at the Car Design Event 2025 in Munich.
It included stylish compact car
features
such as slim LED lights on the front and rear, along with large alloy wheels.
A fully working prototype of the new Yugo is expected to be shown at the Belgrade Expo in 2027.
On top of that, Bjelić said it would be initially sold as an "affordable" two-door model, adding that there is potential for "different body versions" to follow.
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Affordability of the new Yugo is hoped to be facilitated by introducing the vehicle a petrol engine, and choice of manual or automatic gearboxes.
Yugo Automobile did add: "electrified versions are possible."
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DVLA records show just seven remain on the road today
Credit: Facebook / Carole Nash Inside Classics
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Despite it's bad reputation it could be relaunched before the end of the decade
Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
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The Zastava Yugo 45 has been branded the 'worst car in history'
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With this project, Yugo are teasing a "fun-to-drive car" that "meets all relevant safety standards," hinting it will use a shared platform borrowed from a "cooperation partner".
Allan told
'Look at what Renault has done recently with the 5. Even when they've turned it electric it's been a huge success.
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'The new Yugo could do the same. It looks really quirky and will be totally different to the cars on the market at the moment.'
Despite the car being branded as the 'worst car in history' Allan still believes the car can be a success.
He said that if the vehicle manages to keep the same characteristics of the original then drivers will appreciate it as a cheap form of motoring, but added that will depend on just how well built it is.
Allan added that the car manages to attract lots of attention whenever he goes out in it, which he admitted isn't that often.
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He added that while you don't see them on the roads anymore, everyone still remembers them and wants to tell him about friends or family who owned one.
Asked if the original Yugo warranted the dreadful reputation it had gained, he said that in the 1980s he probably would have agreed with that assessment but now that he was the owner of one he could appreciate it for what it is.
He said that the car offered a no frills, basic form of transport and that people expected too much from them.
Despite saying it was clunky and poorly built he said he still loved his model.
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The interior décor of Allan's car is caramel with him saying it looked like a Caramac bar, adding it's 'glorious but in an awful way'.
BADLY MADE
The Yugo was notoriously badly made with the bodykit simply riveted onto the bottom of the bumper, meaning that it flaps around if its picking up speed.
Not that it can go fast. Allan said it can reach 70mph at a push but it only has a four-speed gearbox.
Although he added while it's comfortable doing 60mph it's best not to go much faster and warned you wouldn't want to hit anything.
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UK imports of the car stopped in 1991 due to the start of the Yugoslav civil war, with dealers at the time offloading models for just £2,795, around £8,600 today.
By then it had become renowned for being rudimentary, poorly engineered and ugly.
Just how bad the car was, was outlined in the book "The Yugo: The Rise and Fall of the Worst Car in History' by Jason Vuic.
He wrote: 'Six months after its American introduction in 1985, the Yugo had become a punch line; within a year, it was a staple of late-night comedy.'
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Allan, who works in the motor trade buying and selling cars, is also a keen collector, preferring motors with a bit of a difference.
Among his collection is a Skoda Estelle, a couple of Metros, two Rover 75s, a Talbot Alpine, a Peugeot 106, a Vauxhall Cavalier and a Citroen BX.
In total, he said he had about 25 cars to his name but the Yugo remained one of his favourites.
Thanks to its basic design, if anything goes wrong he can fix it himself and so far, it has been reliable.
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The Zastava Yugo is making a comeback with an 80s-inspired supermini
Credit: Instagram
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The company hopes to launch the new hatchback in 2027
Credit: Instagram