The GAZ M21 Volga was released in late 1955. Its front part was changed in 1959: the M21 got rid of its large horizontal blades and replaced them with a grille with 16 vertical vents. In 1961, the grille was redesigned again, with 37 thin vertical blades. After a very slow start of production, the GAZ M21 Volga, successor to the Pobeda, was a Soviet bestseller in the 1960s.