The development stages of the 110 began in the early 1990s, with a prototype coupé called the Katran 1.6i produced that was first demonstrated at the AvtoVAZ Togliatti factory in 1991. A lack of financial investment stalled the project, but the design of the Katran prototype was revisited in around 1995, when work on the 110 series began, and clear similarities between the Katran's shape and the 110's overall design can be seen