Some collectors collect Mustangs or rare Pontiac GTO models in their garages. These people do not stand out among other collectors. But you can buy a car that only some units will recognize in the stream, and get devilish pleasure when, in trying to identify a car, a person tries to find a nameplate or crawls on the Internet in search of a model. But there are still such cars! One of them is the Tatra 613. No, this is not a dump truck, but a car. This instance is quite rare, but at one time it was a cult. It was mainly used by party leaders and large directors of various enterprises.
It’s too late to board the Volga, and it’s too early to sit in the Seagull
Naturally, the party leaders didn’t really want to move around on personal and business matters on ordinary cars like “Zhiguli”.
Those who were lucky were destined for “The Seagulls” and “ZILs”. But what about those people who do not rank in the ordinary Volga, and they haven’t yet got more luxurious cars? That is what the Tatra 613 was for. These cars were made in the Czech Republic.
History of the Tatra Mountains
The vehicle manufacturing plant was established back in 1850 by Ignaz Šustala. The company was engaged in the manufacture of strollers and prams. She later expanded. Factories were not only in the Czech Republic, but also in Berlin, Vienna, Wroclaw, and even in Ukraine. In 1897, one of the first cars in Central Europe was launched. They called the car "President." In 1917, the company changed its name, and two years later an icon and the inscription "Tatra" appeared. This is the name of the mountain system. After World War II, the corporation was nationalized. The factories produced trucks, as well as luxury cars. This automaker successfully existed until 2013. Then the corporation was sold at auction.
How to create a legendary car
From 1956 to 75 in the Czech Republic, and then in Czechoslovakia, a very interesting car was produced - the Tatra-603. This is a car of a purely executive level, on which a deputy drove in the Soviet Union. KGB chairman. The car was distinguished by a rear-engine layout and a unique, luxurious design at that time. However, years will inevitably take their toll, and this luxury car is outdated. The Czech Republic decided to update the model.
Design ordered in the Italian studio Carrozzeria Village. But
Italian designers have created the appearance of the model. They reworked sketches of Czechoslovak engineers, which in many ways (if not in everything) were decisive in the concept of a new car. And although the power unit, just like on the 603rd, remained behind, the layout of the car has changed a lot. But this is the work of engineers. And the designers got a very difficult, almost impossible task - to draw an ideal, large and long passenger car with a rear engine, unlike anything else. And I must say that they did an excellent job with this task. The new product looked original and unique. It was hard to confuse the car with something else. The new design completely removed the heaviness. In addition, the body was distinguished by high aerodynamic characteristics. By the 70th year in Italy, as many as three samples of the Tatra-613 were assembled. Photos of the legendary luxury car can be seen in our article. These instances differed from each other in different exterior finishes. There were also two body types: a sedan, as well as a two-door coupe. It was decided to abandon the latter, but the sedan went into series.
Test at Dmitrovsky training ground, launch in a series
One Tatra-613 car of three prototypes was sent to the USSR in 1971 for testing. Even then, in the USSR, a training ground with excellent infrastructure - Dmitrovsky worked. It was there that the car got.
As today, the tests included several stages. An accelerated resource test was also performed then. The public was able to see this luxury car for the first time in 1973. The Tatra 613 was shown at an exhibition in Prague. The series started the car in 1975 at a branch of the plant in Pribor. Assembly was carried out completely by hand. Volumes of production did not differ in size - no more than 1000 copies per year. Production was curtailed in 1996. Over the entire period, four versions were made.
NEO - “Unidentified Riding Object”
To say that the Tatra 613 is a rare car is to say nothing. Together with the unique exterior, this car becomes a mystery on Russian roads. The small brand icon on the grille is very difficult to see. Therefore, among the Lexus, Land Cruiser, Bentley and other Tatra cars remains a mystery.
Exterior
Someone may notice a resemblance to the Citroen in the design of the car ; some find features of the Saab in it. There are people who can guess in the Tatra 613 even the Range Rover, only flatter.
The car is quite large and not at all budgetary. You need to know automobile history very well in order to recognize in it a representative of East European automotive industry. If you look at the car side and back, the body is simply unique and flawless in everything. But with the front of the Italians, clearly something went wrong. "Front" resembles a box for seedlings. But questions to this part rarely arise. The design is very harmonious and original. The back is also unusual. And let the
taillights look like a Mercedes W123, but the fins that run along the rear window add a bit of fiction to the look. By the way, due to the fins, the body becomes like a liftback. Although in fact it is an ordinary sedan. One cannot help but see the two exhaust pipes. They were already coming from the factory.
Salon
We can say about the interior that the Italians no longer worked here. The design of the dashboard - on the "C grade". But then it was in the order of things for company cars. It is possible to improve the Tatra-613 panel.
Tuning today allows you to do a lot. There is a convenient back row where the official can comfortably accommodate. But the front seats are very comfortable.
One engine, two carburetors
Interesting solutions were then applied in the Tatra car. Cars of the 613th model stand out from the total gray mass even now. It seems to be a rear-engine layout, but it is much closer to mid-engine. The engine is located directly above the rear axle. On the one hand, this is the merit of a good weight distribution, and on the other, the power unit is a thing of the past, which makes it difficult to maintain.
In the Tatra-613, the engine is nothing but a real V8. This unit is capable of producing 143 hp, but it is also possible to increase the characteristics by squandering the block. Then the power will increase to 170 forces. The engine capacity is 3.5 liters, which is quite normal for an eight-cylinder unit. The engine only runs on A95 gasoline. At the same time, fuel consumption is not the smallest - even when driving on the highway, the appetite easily exceeds 15 liters. In this case, the car can move at a speed of 190 km / h. The feature of this engine is two carburetors. The cooling system is airy. And if you open the hood, the first thing that catches your eye is the turbine, which is used in the cooling system. The air that enters the filter is heated by the exhaust gases. The heating system is an independent gas-fired stove. One of them is located in the central part of the panel, and the second - in the front.
She is not so easy to see - she is hidden under the floor in the trunk. As for the transmission, an automatic transmission was provided for the Tatra-613 executive-class car, the technical characteristics of which can be compared with some Range-Rover models. There is a 4-speed manual transmission.
Summary
So, we found out the history and technical characteristics of the Czech Tatra 613 model. Now this car is rarely seen even in the hands of collectors. Such a car is not suitable for daily driving. There are no spare parts for it. In addition, the motor was quite heavy to maintain. A few years later, production was curtailed, and on the basis of the 613th, the 700th was created. But it is rarely seen in the vast Russian Federation.