The G5 represented a significant layout change from its predecessor. The defining mechanical difference was a new five-speed gearbox mounted at the rear, behind both the engine and the rear axle — a configuration that reflected contemporary thinking in single-seater design. A new rear suspension was also designed for the car. Notably, the G5 was the first Russian racing car to be fitted with disc brakes on all four wheels, a distinction that underscored its technical ambition within the Soviet racing programme.
The car debuted in Soviet Formula One racing in September 1968, powered by an uprated 1,478 cc inline-four engine derived from the Moskvitch 412 road car, itself carried over from the G4M. In this initial form the engine produced 92 hp (70 kW).
For the 1969 season the engine was replaced by the Moskvitch 412-2V variant, fitted with a new DOHC cylinder head and two twin Weber 40DCO carburetors, raising output to 100 hp (75 kW) at 5,800 rpm. A further modification in 1970 brought the figure to 112 hp (80 kW).
In 1972, the displacement was increased to 1,840 cc, lifting power to 124 hp (92 kW). This enlarged-engine version is sometimes referred to as the G5M in period sources, though the G5M designation was formally applied in 1974 when the original aluminium body was replaced by a fibreglass shell. The two G5M cars raced until 1976, giving the basic G5 design a competitive life of eight seasons. Both surviving cars were presented to the Moskvitch factory museum in 1983.
Separate from the domestic G5 programme, a parallel project aimed at genuine international Formula One competition was initiated in 1963 under the direction of Igor Gladilin and Lev Shugurov. Their goal was an entirely new engine — the GD-1 — an eight-cylinder 1,500 cc DOHC unit targeted at 200 hp (150 kW) at 10,500 rpm, matching the power outputs of the leading Formula One engines of the 1.5-litre era. Fitted with four dual Weber 280DKB carburettors, the complete engine weighed 148 kg (326 lb). During early testing it produced 162 hp (121 kW) at 6,000 rpm despite the absence of a suitable high-rev test stand at the Moskvitch factory.
A modified G5 chassis was prepared as a test vehicle, and a new five-speed gearbox with four synchronised upper ratios was completed by 1965. However, government funding for the programme was cut in 1965, and the project was formally abandoned in 1967. By that point, international Formula One had moved to a 3,000 cc engine formula, rendering the 1,500 cc GD-1 obsolete before it could race. The sole lasting contribution of the GD-1 programme was its gearbox design, which was adopted for the production G5 cars and improved their drivability throughout their domestic racing career.
The Moskvitch G5 stands as the most technically developed Soviet single-seater of its era and the furthest the Soviet domestic racing programme advanced toward international-standard engineering. Its eight-year competition life and progressive engine development made it a durable presence in Soviet Formula One racing, even as the aspirations of the parallel GD-1 project went unrealised.