Its chassis was reverse-engineered from a Buick 33-90, except for the front suspension, engine, exhaust and battery carried over from 1933 experimental limousine L-1, itself an unlicensed Buick 32-90 copy,[1] but the body was designed by Budd Company for $1,500,000 while the stamps were made by Hamilton Foundry & Machine Company for another $500,000.

[2] It was equipped with an 5.76 L (351 cu in) straight-eight OHV engine (a metric copy of Buick 345) producing up to 110 PS (81 kW)[3] and giving a top speed of 115 km/h (71 mph).

[4] It was followed by the ZIS-101A that had improved the engine giving 116 PS (85 kW)[5] and a new top speed of approximately 130 km/h (81 mph).

In 1939, a two-seat sport version designed by Valentin Nikolaevich Rostkov called 101-Sport was built.

[4] The engine was the same as in the 101-A, but boosted to 141 PS (104 kW) and a top speed of 162 km/h (101 mph) (although a Pravda article claimed 170–180 km/h).