If you happen to find yourself in Tampa Bay, Florida, you should check out the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum which has a wonderful collection of iconic cars and trucks, including one of the biggest assortments of Tatras I’ve seen stateside. These weirdly exotic luxury cars are rarely seen outside of museum exhibits today, but this example was supposedly being used and serviced regularly by a local garage up until 2011. The seller has listed it here on eBay as a project with its 2.5 liter air-cooled V8 still intact.
The asking price is £6,500 and the seller indicates he’s been dealing with a fair number of tire kickers in attempting to sell this piece of Czech exotica. I can certainly understand his frustration, along with potential buyers being enamored by the prospects of owning such a car and then facing the reality of what it would take to restore it. Although these cars are affordable to buy in project form, there’s a reason most restored examples are in the hands of well-funded collections and individuals – it takes significant resources to properly restore a car like this.
But oh, how amazing it would be to have this vehicle in your personal collection. The rear-mounted 2.5L “hemi” V8 engine made roughly 100 horsepower with 152 lb-ft of torque, paired to a synchronized four-speed gearbox. With excellent weight distribution and MacPherson front suspension, the 603 was a driver’s car through and through. It enjoyed a successful competition history and the engine proved to be quite reliable, as evidenced by its use not only in the 603 but also in the company’s military truck model.
The Tatra still runs and drives and starts with the key, according to the seller, who has owned the vintage luxury car for the last ten years. Based on the description, one can assume he purchased it from the last owner in 2011 when the updates to the Czech log book ended, and continued to use it before it became impractical to do so. The level of restoration work required is what remains a mystery, as it’s clear the interior and body need total restoration, but we know less about the drivetrain itself. Still, it’s a rare opportunity for anyone who follows these cars, but one that will also prove quite challenging.
This would be fun to drive albeit slowly in the corners. If these were imported into our country and became popular Ralph Nader might have had another target. Have you noticed all the really cool cars had the engine in the back and were air-cooled:)
M registration, so presumably brought into Britain 1973/74 and over the water thereafter.
More likely it is an age-related registration number given to the car when registered in UK. Car is also listed as 1974 in the advert, which is “M” reg as you say. But it would have been impossible to bring this car to UK or any Western country in 1974, except as embassy employee.
It can be hard to dateTatras. When they were in the hands of original owners, mainly very high ranking Soviet era Czech state officials, the cars were periodically returned top the factory and updated. So a 62 car could be updated in the style of a 69 car by the factory and it would be hard to know.
Martin, you’re correct on what you write. This car has not been taxed since 2011. I’ve owned 2 of these, still have a 1962 T2-603 with the lower windscreen, but the modern updates the last time it was at the factory, including 4-wheel disc brakes, electronic ignition, and full syncro gearbox.
This car should have the electronic ignition [box mounted to the silver triangle bracket on the right side, but it’s been converted to regular point set ignition. It’s also missing the louvered panels on either side of the engine. I would be a bit concerned about how rusty this car is, especially the floors. [to check the floors you have to either put it up on a lift, or remove the overlay wood panels under the carpets to see the steel floors. It’s got rust on either side of the engine, and that is rather unusual.
Parts are available for these cars in Europe, and they are very easy to repair. [I’ve had an engine out and on the ground using only 4 tools, in less than 15 minutes.]
If you want to see more of these interesting cars, check out the Lane Motor Museum in Tennessee.
A split window!
Pat,
When I got my first Tatra T-603 right after the fall of the Iron Curtain, armed with photos, I was talking to a very well-known Corvette collector at the Carlisle event. I told him I had just bought a split window equipped from the factory with 4 wheel disc brakes. He took the bait and insisted NO split window ‘vette was ever factory equipped with 4 discs. I insisted I did have such a car, and bet him a steak dinner in town.
He agreed to the bet. I showed him the Tatra photos, and he said “That’s not a Corvette!” I replied that I never mentioned the word Corvette, simply saying I had bought a split window!
The steak was especially delicious that evening!
A `74 TATRA that looks like a `48. They changed style as often as a book on a shelf does.
Under the communist rules, changing body styles or models was deemed unnecessary for vehicles that were generally not exported for hard cash.
Tatras of this type were mechanically updated, and as most of them were government owned, they were returned to the Czech factory for regular updates. By the end of the run in 1975, these were [for European sedans] quite powerful and handled better than most big sedans.
GM made more Corvairs in a decade than Tatra made of all its’ big rear-engine sedans combined from 1934-1997. They were really a sideline to Tatra’s truck business which is still in operation.
Hagerty allowed a questionable group of “journalists” to borrow a ’47 Tatra from Lane Motor Museum to test the theory that they had dangerous handling. They rolled over the 300K car and proclaimed, “Yes, the Nazi car is a deathtrap!”. There’s a lot more to this story, if interested, google “Tatra Rollover Stunt”. The car was a lot like the early Corvair, easy to roll if you didn’t follow directions well , otherwise quite safe. And, there were multiple special interest groups with an inclination to trash Tatras for their own purposes.
Tatras are Czech, not “Nazi”, though during the Nazi era Tatras prior to this model were coveted and often commandeered by German officials who admired their comfort, sophistication, and speed… resulting in their own demise due to tricky rear-engine swing-axle handling frequently enough that they became known as the “Czech secret weapon”, and the Reich eventually forbade officers to drive them.
OK, I personally have absolutely no interest in Eastern Bloc cars, however should I ever have one it’d definately be a 603! It’s so ugly it’s cool and just the history behind its development and usage is worth owning one. Always thought of it as a Czech Tucker.
Tatra is one of the world’s oldest manufacturers of motor vehicles and while they’re no longer offering cars they’re still a major contender in the extremely heavy duty truck segment
Candidate for “The World’s Ugliest Car” award.
Steve,
I’ve owned 2 of these, and while people find it to be very unusual, when you see one in person and can understand the aerodynamics behind it, it’s very rare people who see one in person think it’s ugly.
I did own one for a short time, finding one for sale with an old car dealer in the Rioja area of Spain. It was nice, cream paint, blue interior and in very good shape. It drove well. I say that, because I only drove it long enough around the yard to satisfy myself that all the gears could be accessed. That´s not always easy on a Tatra 603.
Althoughthe 603 was a car which had fascinated me as a kid and I still have a model version here as I type, I had no desire to try the car on the road at all. Know your limits…. so the 603 was transported to the UK, went through an MoT and got sold to a good home.
This one looks like it needs a sympathetic owner with deep pockets and connections in Czechia.
I notice the ebay advert peddles the “Porsche stole the VW from Tatra” story. It´s complete nonsense, even if a small amount of hush money got paid down the line. There are similarities common to several Austrian-trained engineers of the 20s-30s, but as we know, Professor Porsche didn´t need to copy anyone.
I believe they used one of these in the movie, The unfortunate events if Liminy Snickets with Jim Carey, or something like that. When I saw it in the movie I had no idea it was a Russian car, it just looked like a cool old car with a split window like the Corvette.
They also had an Imperial limousine, ’58 – ’60 in there also. Stupid movie, cool cars
You’re correct about the movie, however remember the Tatra is a CZECH car not Russian. Such a detail may sound minuscule but I’m pretty confident no Czechs would appreciate it especially these days… 😏
Local_sheriff….. how could I make such a faux pah ? Perhaps too much wine too early in the day.
But you gotta admit, it’s a cool looking car.
Angel,
Whenever I would take one of my Tatra 603 cars out on the road or to a car show, the car and I would be swamped with people who found it fascinating. I started calling the rear engine lid my “religious cover” because the most common words said by surprised viewers, when they saw that air-cooled V8 in the rear, was “Oh my God!”
I once took it to a big VW “bug out” event, and at first I was told the show was for VW and related vehicles only. When I opened the rear engine lid and they saw that air-cooled V8, then I was enthusiastically invited to display the car, and they wanted it right at the main entrance!
Tatras are Czech, not Russian, tho’ the 603 models were produced when Czechoslovakia was effectively a Soviet vassal state.
I’m thinking, restore the body. Put it on a modern front engine, rear drive frame. And lots of horsepower. And a lux interior.
Don,
Sure, go ahead and remove the most unusual parts and characteristics of the car, and create a bastardized car that no one else will want.
yikes
Awesome looking car. I’ve heard of the Tatra 603. For some reason, this was never offered here in the USA. Assuming parts are still available, I can imagine this being a great resto project.
As a Tatra T2-603 owner, I have tried to track most of them in the US and Canada, and I estimate there are about 30 for each country.
Tatra cars, being built for the Soviet Bloc, never submitted any of their parts or equipment for DOT and SAE examination, so from that standpoint alone, they were not approved to be sold new in America.
It’s estimated that only about 4,000 to 5,000 series 603 body shells were created between 1957 and 1975. However the official government sources suggested Tatra made about 20,000 cars based on VIN numbers. This discrepancy can easily be explained, because the vast majority of these cars were owned by various government agencies, and were routinely traded back to the factory, where they were stripped to the bare body and rebuilt with the latest mechanicals and trim changes. And not surprisingly these rebuilt cars were given new VIN plates and paperwork
Trim & most mechanical parts are still available for the 2nd series cars with the wide-set 4 headlights [1968 and up, like our feature car], and things like emblems and taillights have been reproduced. That said, because so many of the original T-603 [those with the 3 central headlights under glass] were factory updated, almost every part that is exclusive to the series 1 cars, is VERY hard to find.
My Blue Tatra is an example of a single-upgrade car that was in private hands most of it’s life. It’s chassis number 4739, and was [based on factory records] built about 1958. It was sent back for renovation in 1968, and the updated mechanicals were installed, and the wide front grill added. However my car still has the lower height windshield, fuel cap under the hood, and a flat front trunk lid without fresh air heater grill and center chrome [fake] hood scoop.
My Black Tatra [sold in the early 1990s to a museum in New York] came from the former DDR [East Germany], and was said to have been a Stasi [secret police] car. When we pulled the back seat bottom out, we found a carefully wrapped brown paper package hidden there. Inside was a “Brigade size” Stasi flag, and I kept it. It had a 1970s overhaul and a new VIN of 18983, almost the end of the run.
This is actually a very reasonable price, and I’ve sent the link for the feebay ad to the Tatra Club UK, and I suspect it will be snatched up quickly.
This car is still registered on the .gov.UK website
https://vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/VehicleFound?locale=en
with the last documents issued in Oct 2020 ! So maybe if the owner was in the USA air force here in the UK , or similar, for 10 years, and then retuned to the US with the car , I’m sceptical of the story !
Almost forgot; There was a single Tatra T-603 sold & imported into America as a new car. From what I’ve been able to determine, the sole importer to North America for the 2 top selling Czech motorcycles, CZ and Jawa, told the Czechoslovakian government agency in charge of vehicle exports, that he wanted a new Tatra T-603. As North America was the largest importer of Czech motorcycles, they said yes. Last I heard the car was still in the hands of the second owner in Nevada, and it’s all original.