Editing Riga Autobus Factory (section)

=== Origins, Riga period ===
During the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] period, RAF and [[UAZ]] were the only producers of vans and minibuses in [[Soviet Union]]. RAF vans and minibuses were used only by state enterprises, most often as [[ambulance]]s and for public transit. Private persons were not allowed to own them, the only exception being for families with at least five children.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

In 1949, the factory began producing van bodies on the site of the [[Riga]] auto repair factory No.2 (commonly known as RARZ<ref>Thompson, Andy. ''Cars of the Soviet Union'' (Haynes Publishing, Somerset, UK, 2008), p.94.</ref>). In 1955, it was renamed the Riga Experimental Bus Factory ({{langx|lv|Rīgas eksperimentālā autobusu fabrika}}, {{langx|ru|Рижский Опытный Автобусный Завод}}), and the products started to be abbreviated to RAF. It would become the main Soviet producer of [[minibus]]es.<ref name="Thompson, p.94">Thompson, p.94.</ref>

RAF's first product was the [[RAF-251]], a 22-seat local bus, based on the [[GAZ-51]] chassis (which RAF also built), with a wood and metal body.<ref name="Thompson, p.94"/> There was also a passenger- and freight version (''Kombi''), the 251T, with a payload of 14 passengers and {{convert|800|kg|lb|abbr=on}} cargo.<ref name="Thompson, p.94"/>

From 1958, the factory started to produce [[RAF-977]] minibuses, based on [[Volga (automobile)|GAZ-21 Volga]] engine (between the front seats,<ref name="Thompson, p.95">Thompson, p.95.</ref> rather like the [[Dodge A100]]; the engine was accessible through an inside hatch<ref name="Thompson, p.95"/>), transmission, axles, and steering.<ref name="Thompson, p.95"/> It was planned to produce passenger ("route taxis" for airports, and for sporting teams), freight, mail, and ambulance versions of the vehicle, to replace the modified [[Station wagon|estate]]s then in use.<ref name="Thompson, p.94"/> Drawing inspiration from the [[Volkswagen Microbus|VW Type 2]], it had a front-mounted water-cooled {{convert|2,445|cc|cid|abbr=on}} engine (based on the Volga's, with a lower [[compression ratio]]), and seated ten.<ref>Thompson, pp.94-95.</ref> It debuted in 1957, and ten were built for display at that year's Moscow Youth Festival, leading to a proposed name Festival.<ref name="Thompson, p.95"/> The first batch was produced in 1959, under the new RAF 977 name.<ref name="Thompson, p.95"/> It got {{convert|13|L/100 km|mpgus mpgimp|abbr=on}} and could reach {{convert|62|mph|km/h|abbr=on}},<ref name="Thompson, p.95"/> the majority of those being hand-built.<ref name="Thompson, p.94"/>

In 1965, RAF proposed two prototypes, with the hope of persuading ''Minavtoprom'' to finance a new factory: a conventional version, comparable to the [[Ford Transit]] (dubbed the RAF 962-I), or a [[Cab over|forward control]] version, similar to the [[Renault Estafette]] (dubbed the 962-II).<ref name="Thompson, p.194">Thompson, p.194.</ref> RAF management, in a rare move for a Soviet company, created two competing teams to individually design a new van.<ref name="Thompson, p.194"/> The conventional 962-I was selected, which seemed less likely to provide the money for an all-new facility.<ref>Thompson, pp.194-195.</ref> So RAF tried to persuade the selection committee to adopt the more radical 962-II, and did.<ref name="Thompson, p.195">Thompson, p.195.</ref>

A one-tonne variant was based on a modernized 977D chassis. However, the factory size was not large enough to put this model into mass production, and therefore it was moved to [[ErAZ]] ([[Yerevan]], [[Armenia]]).