A Car of Distinction

The Tatra 603 may be the only car that was built foralmost entirely by hand.
distinct elite, had sales politically regulated, and starredPrime Minister Vaclav Kopecky received one of the
in films.first T603's manufactured, probably due to his
The 603 was built by Tatra, an automobileunwavering support throughout its conception and
manufacturer in the country that was formerlycreation. Without this, the 603 may never have been
Czechoslovakia. Following the communist takeover, theborn.
government issued an order to Tatra to design andIn 1958 some minor improvements were made. Tatra
manufacture a car that would be suitable for officialenlarged the rear wheel openings, changed the door
use. The car must seat six people with an enginecatches and installed chrome fins on the air intake.
capacity not in excess of 3.6.They also enlarged the ventilation openings and
The result was a large four-door sedan with a 2472improved the air intake.
cc cast aluminum, V8 engine that was mounted in theIn 1959, a white T603 won a Golden Ribbon in
rear behind rear swinging half axles. The engine wasWesbagen, Germany awarded on the basis of its
air cooled by oil coolers. It had a top speed of 158 kh.style, appearance and overall elegance.
The transmission was located under the steeringSales within Czechoslovakia were restricted to senior
wheel and the gearbox was mounted in the rear.members of political organizations and certain
The 603 had front and rear bench seats each ofindustries. The 603 was also exported to other
which would comfortably seat three people. A largecountries in Eastern Europe including Germany and
luggage compartment was under the hood of the car.Russia, again for official use only. Then, in 1960, when
The all round independent suspension and soft coilFidel Castro joined the Communist Bloc, he was given
springs provided a comfortable ride.a white T603 equipped with air conditioning.
The 603 featured large windows on the front, sides,The 603 was virtually unknown on the other side of
and rear. In the original model, there are three frontthe Iron Curtain. Communist political philosophies
headlamps mounted under a plastic cover. This is theprohibited any sales to capitalist countries. A few were
603-1. The body was modified twice thereafter.brought into Western countries to serve Czech
A fourth headlamp was added to the 603-2 and theembassies and were left behind when the officials
lamps were flanked by an oval grill. The 603-3departed. Some were abandoned after exhibition in
dispensed with the grill and mounted the headlampsmotor shows.
flush with the front.The 603 was the sinister sedan in the film, "A Series
Only one car was produced in 1955 and it wasof Fortunate Events." It also appeared in 16 other
introduced to the public at the 1955 International Sixmovies.
Day Motorevent in Zlin. Nine additional cars were built inBetween the years of 1955 and 1975, a total of 20,422
1956.cars were produced, almost entirely built by hand.
When serial production began in 1957, only two carsToday, the 603 is a classic and is highly sought after
per day could be completed as the car was craftedby car collectors.