By Jay Hirsch
Tatra is a Czechoslovkian car company and the third oldest car company in the world. It began as a carriage and wagon company in 1850. In 1897, under Ignac Sustala who headed the company, it produced its first car, named the President. The company at this time was named Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau Fabriksgesellschaft. In 1918 the name was changed to Tatra after the Tatra Mountains.
The Tatra T 603 is an updated modern version of the Tatra T 77, first made in 1934. The T 77 was the first aerodynamically-designed car produced anywhere. Hans Ledwinka, who was the director of Tatra, had Paul Jaray develop and design the T 77. Paul Jaray was the Zeppelin design engineer. The T 77 is noted for its rear design with its single, centered dorsal type fin. With the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany in 1939 all Tatra car production ceased as the company under German control concentrated on making trucks for the Nazi Germany war machine.
With the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, Czechoslovakia fell under Russian Communist rule. The Tatra factory continued to make heavy duty trucks but did not produce automobiles
In the early 1950s government officials realized the Czech built Skoda was not a vehicle befitting the power and the egos of Communist leaders. The communist government also grew frustrated with delays of Soviet cars and their poor qualit, so in 1953 it ordered development of a new luxurious Tatra vehicle, with a condition it be sold only to high-ranking government and military officials.
From this edict the post-WWII Tatra T 603 was born, introduced in prototype form in 1955 and continuing the rear-engine, swing-axle layout of early Tatra sedans.
The first generation T 603 was made from 1955–1961 and had three headlights mounted behind a single glass panel. The center headlight turned with the front wheels
The Tatra T 603 debuted at the 1956 Brno Trade Fair. The dramatic styling and engineering drew many interested looks. The Tatra was also shown to an international audience at the Cortina d’Ampezzo winter Olympics. In 1960 the T 603 was shown in New York, but politics—namely the Cold War between the United States and Russia—kept it from being sold in Western Europe and the United States
The more modern Tatra T 603 had an all-new air-cooled 2.5-liter OHV hemi V8, rack-and-pinion steering, independent suspension with hydraulic shock absorbers in the back, and struts and coil springs up front. The 603 had a steering column-mounted shifter mated to a four-speed manual transmission. The steering-mounted shifter eliminated the center floor-mounted shifter, enabling the T 603 to seat three people across in the front.
In 1962 the T 603 was updated with four headlights and new rear taillights, as seen here.
This Tatra is owned by Ivo and Brenda Slezak. Ivo Slezak moved to Massachusetts in the 1960s. As an engineer, he admired Tatra’s unique design. As a proud Czech, he hoped to import a symbol of his homeland to the United States. That finally happened in 1989 when Ivo brought over this 1969 T2-603 that once belonged to the Czech minister of agriculture. He says the paperwork process was difficult.
“You had to have the patience of a saint,” he explained.
The “Velvet Revolution” and the spread of democracy means regulations are less restrictive now, but Ivo says good connections for parts are essential.
“I have several contacts in the Czech Republic,” he said. “If I’m lucky, they have what I need. If I’m even luckier, they will sell it to me.”
Ivo did a thorough restoration on the Tatra, with new paint, upholstery, chrome plating, bodywork repairs and a rebuilt engine. The red-line radial tires were the only tires that came in the correct size for the Tatra. Many muscle cars from the late 1960s and early 1970s used red-line tires, which are again available today.
“The red-lines have nothing to with the Communist side of the car,” he said.
The T 603 was built from 1956 until 1975, with some exported to Cuba, China and other Eastern-block communist countries
The engine is an air-cooled hemi, 2.5 liter/150.9 cid V-8. The Tatra is 199.4 inches long, 56.3 inches high, 75.2 inches wide, weighs 3,241 lbs. and gets 24 mpg. The original tires were 6.70 x 15 and are now 205/75 x 15 radial tires.
The T2-603 has an almost floaty ride on a mixture of winding dirt roads and straight country lanes. You will not be fooled into thinking it’s a sports car.
As most owners of VW Beetles and Porsche 911s know, there are some quirks related to a rear-engined vehicle, one of which is never lift off the gas in the middle of a corner when traveling at a rapid rate.
The Tatra T model lasted until 1975. Its legacy of comfortable driving characteristics and clever engineering outlived a world war and endured well into a cold one. •
