Tatra does not build many cars like the Tatra 603: a 4-door saloon with 2,474 , built from 1956 to 1975 at the height of the post-war boom. Its designer of record is Julius Mackerle / František Kardaus / Vladimír Popelář / Josef Chalupa / Zdeněk Kovář.
The story
The Tatra 603 is a large rear-engined luxury car which was produced by the Czechoslovak company Tatra from 1956 to 1975. It was a continuation of the series of Tatra streamlined sedans which began with the Tatra 77. In Socialist Czechoslovakia, only high-ranking party officials and heads of factories were driven in 603s; the car was also exported to a number of other countries.
What is underneath
Under the skin sits 2,474 other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. Kerb weight is 1400 kg. The gearbox is a 4-speed manual. The layout matters: the engine hangs behind the rear axle, a layout that gives ferocious traction out of a corner and a reputation to match on the way in. The wheelbase is 2748 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Its place in the line
Where it sits in Tatra's history is not in doubt: the Tatra 87 / Tatra 600 came before it; the Tatra 613 followed it; it was built at Kopřivnice, Moravia. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Nissan Skyline, the Fiat 500, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL. Nearby in the Tatra catalogue sit the Tatra 10 and the Tatra 600 kabriolet.
The money
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Tatra 603 has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.
Tatra 603 B5