When hearing the name Tatra, many car enthusiasts immediately ring a bell: streamlined bodies, an air-cooled engine behind the rear axle and often with an extra central headlight as an external feature. Perhaps the best known are the T77 and T87 introduced before the war, but if we look at the most produced model then we are talking about the T603. Nevertheless, the T603 is nowadays a very sought after and hardly offered classic, of which the first series is by far the most special and loved. And it is precisely that version that is the car you see pictured here.
The first series of the T603 is characterized by the front with three headlights that are placed behind a glass plate. It gives the car a unique look and it is of course very beneficial for air resistance. The center headlight rotates when the steering wheel is turned, so it was one of the first cars with cornering lights, as we see on most modern cars today. The interior, completely in Baroque style, is also very unique and is great to see. The finishes and materials used make it clear that at that time it was a very luxurious and special car. It was therefore mainly dignitaries and other prominent persons who were transported with a Tatra. Another special fact: the Tatra offered room for six people as standard due to the front seat and steering gear. All mentioned things disappeared in later versions, of which the two most important, the headlights and the beautiful interior, soon appeared in the second series.
It makes a first series T603 special. Partly due to the fact that at the time many first series were converted to later ones with four headlights. This could even be done by the factory, if the customer so desired.
This two-tone T603 from 1959 happily escaped that dance and remained completely as it left the factory in 1959. A beautiful original car with a truly beautiful brown interior. The atmosphere that this car breathes is unprecedented and the T603 is reminiscent of its ancestors, the T77 and T87. With a length of more than 5 meters, the Tatra can safely be called large and looks very streamlined, even almost 65 years after this Tatra was handed over to the first owner.
The car was of course already provided with a new coat of paint and the condition is very neat. The interior has an enormous amount of character with the used brown and beige tones and beautiful design. ‘Baroque’ is the first thing that comes to mind when we take a seat in the very characteristic interior. A large semicircular meter indicates the speed, below it is a rectangular cluster with various information. Furthermore, numerous buttons are housed in the beautifully painted dashboard. The horizontal layout of the dashboard extends beautifully into the door panels, something that was very special at the time. The dashboard is reserved for the first series, the later T603’s got a sober dashboard with simple meters and buttons. It makes this T603 a very special appearance.
The air-cooled 2,545 cc V8 is one of the F-series, it was later modified, so the power source is also specific to the first series. With about 100 hp and 1400 kilograms of empty weight, the car is not a super-fast accelerating sports car, but due to its low air resistance, the T603 does achieve a top speed of about 160 kilometers per hour. At the end of the 1950s a more than respectable speed.
The Czech Tatra is starting to count on more and more recognition among car enthusiasts. After the already very popular T77 and T87 with ‘tail fin’, the T603 is now also rapidly gaining popularity. This copy is in an exceptionally neat condition and is ready for many pleasant kilometers.
