► Plans in motion to resurrect the Yugo name
► Resurrected from ashes of Zastava, aims to rival Dacia
► First sketches and teasers ahead of planned 2027 reveal
No, this isn’t the 1980s – do not adjust your screen. Plans really are under way for the Yugo name to return, as a new venture to develop a small and cheap combustion car bearing the name have been made public.
If you’re unfamiliar (or under the age of 25), the Yugo was a small supermini built by Zastava at a factory in former Yugoslavia (its factory is in what’s now Serbia) which was heavily derived from the Fiat 127 and 128.
It was, to put it politely, a car that wasn’t looked on very kindly by the Western world, with the Yugo regularly making lists of the worst cars ever made – usually down to its sub-par handling, weedy performance and rubbish build quality. Even so, it found a cult following around the world, with admirers including CAR’s own European Editor and font of automotive knowledge Georg Kacher, who took one he owns on a massive road trip to the Yugo’s former factory.
That’s all history now, as the Yugo name is set to make a return. Naming rights have reportedly been secured by Prof. Dr. Aleksandar Bjelić – a university professor that has links with the automotive industry in Germany – who has recruited Serbian designer Darko Marčeta to help mock up the look of the new model.
The first sketches seen in public show a boxy, but modern-looking small car. As well as a chunk of simplicity, there’s a smidge of retro-ness to the look, indulging in similar design tropes that have been carried out by cars like the latest Renault 5 or the new Fiat Grande Panda.
Given it’s a car that’ll wear the Yugo name, the aim is for it to be cheap. Bjelić intends for the Yugo to use a combustion engine to keep costs down, and is reportedly looking to secure ‘an established platform from a co-operation partner.’ Serbian automotive outlet Emisije SAT has discussed the Yugo’s planned return on its YouTube channel.
Work on clay models is ongoing, with the aim to officially reveal the first prototype of a new Yugo model at the 2027 Belgrade Expo.