1968 Tatra T603/3 sedan, rear-engine V8
Generously Lent by Nancy & Charles Gould
Rear engine air-cooled small-block V8
One of the largest rear-engine 4-door air-cooled sedans ever built
Driven & restored in Czech Republic
Tatra T603 production began in 1956 and was produced until 1975: The car was used mainly among senior members of the USSR’s political and industrial establishments, evidenced by its plush, roomy rear seats and stock petrol-fueled heated seats in the front. The car was not generally offered for sale to the public. However luxurious its interior, the Tatra 603 showed itself to handle well in rough conditions. Its 2.5L, OHC V8 engine produced anywhere from 97-105 bhp, and its top speed is estimated to be between 105 and 110 mph. This was quite an accomplishment not only for an air-cooled engine, but also for one in such a large vehicle!
Tatra had been an early developer of streamlined, aerodynamic cars in the 1930’s, and their postwar designs also followed the “Tatra Concept” conceived by Tatra designer Hans Ledwinka. This “Tatra Concept” consisted of a central load-carrying tube and axles with independent swing axles in the front and rear. This streamlined style brought more efficient fuel usage and handling to Tatras. The first air-cooled Tatra was the Tatra 11 in 1923, but the company used both water and air-cooled engines throughout their early history. [BM1]
Tatra was a Czech automotive manufacturer that built passenger, commercial, and military vehicles prior to WW2. After postwar nationalization of their factory, a new model, the Tatra 600 Tatraplan, was designed and developed in the late 1940’s. Government intervention then limited Tatra’s production to trucks, as luxury cars were set to be built in the Russian SSR and imported into the Czech SSR.
In secret, Tatra designers developed a new car called the Valuta. The USSR’s government was frustrated by 1953 with the alleged delays and poor quality of luxury Soviet cars and ordered a new luxury car from Tatra. The Valuta now had a legitimate purpose, and work could now begin on an engine for the vehicle. Because the project had begun in secret, the chassis was ready to go, but the engine was not anticipated to be so large: The already developed air-cooled 2.5L T603 engine was known for its extreme reliability and originally used as a placeholder but ended up being used in production!
Tatra is one of very few automotive manufacturers who still produce air-cooled engines in select trucks to this day, though they have long stopped production of passenger cars. Tatra recommended that those driving their cars send them back to the factory once every 7 years to refurbish cosmetic and mechanical parts, as well as update the car with parts included on newer models. This car originally belonged to the Czechoslovak State Railway and spent the vast majority of its life in Prague.
Specifications:
Configuration: Rear-engine, rear wheel drive
Engine: 2,474 cc Tatra 603G/H air-cooled V8
Transmission: 4-speed manual
Curb weight: 3,175 lb
Top Speed: 105 mph