On the road with the Tatra T700, last convulsion of the Eastern Bloc V8

It’s just a normal weekday when the phone rings at the AutoWeek Classics editorial office. Jan van Rijsoort calls from the Czech Republic, where he lives and works. He plans family visits in the Netherlands. “I’m coming with my Tatra. Shall I visit you sometime? You’ve probably never seen them.” Of course, we won’t let such an opportunity pass us by. The last Czech limousine will fly into our mouth like a roast chicken! When we come face to face with it, we try very hard to find it beautiful. But ‘strange’ is the most positive predicate we can give. It’s a case of function over form, because in the back of the Tatra is a mighty, air-cooled V8 that the car is built around. Although in the back – we can’t say that about Jan. “Officially it’s called mid-rear. This car weighs 1,900 kilos; 1,100 of these lean on the rear axle, and 800 on the front axle.”

According to Jan, it is no coincidence that an innovative brand like Tatra originated in the Czech Republic. “It is a country of machine building. Czechs are brilliant in mechanical and automotive engineering.” And Jan should know, because he has been living and working in the Czech Republic since the early 1990s. His car first left the factory, later it went to a union director. Director indeed, because in those years the union was also just a government organization. “I have an acquaintance who has a number of Tatras. Once I went for a ride with him, I was sold. My first Tatra was a 613-4, but when I came across this one I sold it and replaced it. I’ve left him at my door for years. Then he backed off hard. At one point, rainwater leaked into the interior and I knew it was time to do something about it; otherwise he would be lost.”

Jan didn’t make it half done. His T700 was restored to perfection. “For example, the interior was done by a retired lady who did the upholstery in the Tatra factory during her working life. She still had the blueprints.” And now and then he had to be creative, because not all parts are there anymore. “So now I’m driving around with the brake pads from a Ford Sierra Cosworth.” Fortunately, not much drastic work had to be done on the sheet metal. “That’s a good thing, because it’s a hand-built car. For example, if I need a new door, I can’t get it out of another 700—if you can find one at all.

Gradually, Jan ended up up to his ears in the Tatra world. He is one phone call away from factory employees and key engineers from Tatra’s twilight years as a passenger car maker. And that’s useful if you’re trying to keep a T700 on the road. “You need a good technician.” Last year Tatra celebrated its 120th anniversary. “A jubilee ride has been organized that follows the route from 1897 from the very first Tatras from Koprivnice to Vienna and back. Hundreds of cars turned up. In addition, this car is a great calling card for me as a foreigner when I visit business relations in the Czech Republic. When I arrive with the Tatra and offer people a ride, all doors open.”

Jan’s Tatra T700 is in itself a special car. But the fact that it is a copy with a 4.3-liter engine makes it even more special. “The T700 was offered with a choice between a 3.5 and a 4.3 litre. This is one of fifteen 4.3s.” The difference between those engines is that the 3.5-liter delivers 201 horsepower and the 4.3-liter kicks it to 234 horsepower. “My car is also equipped with an injection system and a three-way catalytic converter. It was developed in England when there were plans there to set up Tatra imports.” A Tatra doesn’t get much more modern.

Then it’s time to fire up the mighty V8 and go for a drive. The sound produced by the air-cooled engine is unique. Once you’ve heard a Tatra, you’ll never confuse it with anything else again. When started, it thumps and hisses civilly and the exhaust makes a dark hum. But when things heat up, he gets fiercer and fiercer.

You immediately forget its questionable appearance when you drive it: here it is about the technology. It takes quite a bit of driving skill to drive the car. “He maneuvers on his handlebars. You have to dare to give him free rein.” On the way, Jan continues to correct the car. But he knows his Tatra like the back of his hand and it doesn’t take long before we drive over a deserted Maasvlakte at highly illegal speeds on a sunny Saturday morning. It’s unbelievable how much pulling power the V8 has at its disposal. “On paper, the top speed is 230 km/h, the 3.5 reaches 210 km/h. On the D1 from Brno to Prague I drive, when it’s quiet, with the greatest of ease 220 km/h. Then all the thumbs of the Czechs go up and the noise on board is really bizarre. It only reaches 230 km/h when there is no wind and I need a quiet road for it,” he grins. But he swears to us: “If you know how it works, it has excellent handling characteristics.” Do you never get tired of constant steering and correction? “I drove it here from the Czech Republic. Then you really don’t arrive dead tired, but you have to keep paying attention; sometimes he can wag his tail.” The Czechs had a solution for that cunning handling at the time. “The people who could afford such a car belonged to the upper class. After purchasing a Tatra, they bought a chic briefcase in which they had iron poured. That went in the luggage compartment in the front to make the nose a little less light and so the Tatra was a lot better to drive.”

The Tatras brand

For enthusiasts of car technology, a Tatra is mouth-watering. But those who know them from the time behind the Iron Curtain will have few sweet memories of them. There these were the cars of the dignitaries of the communist regimes. As far as Russia, politicians, directors, diplomats and trade union leaders – usually not Jan in the cap’s best friends – rode in Tatras. Out of dissatisfaction with the Russians about the build quality of their own limousines, the Czechoslovakian brand was allowed to develop a new model in the early 1950s. You didn’t do something like that on your own; permission had to be given from above first.

Tatras T77

The model, designated with the type number T603, was equipped with an air-cooled V8, a concept that Tatra had used since the T77 of 1934 and that was not imitated by anyone. After the 603 was modernized a little over the years, a new model appeared in the 1970s: the T613 designed by Vignale. The air-cooled V8 was also used here. That car again belonged to the best that could be bought in the Eastern Bloc and was produced until the disappearance of the Iron Curtain. From then on, the future of Tatra became uncertain, because against the deluge of western cars that was released, the Czech brand did not start so much with a car dating from twenty years ago.

Tatras T603

So it is high time to take action. The only thing that was possible with the limited budgets was to modernize the time-honored T613 with new brakes, gearbox and injection system. That resulted in the 613-5; indeed a fifth evolution of this model. It was launched in 1993 with the fervent hope of international success. Some prototypes were even made with a handlebar on the right side. But according to tradition, the production of the 613-5 has been limited to only five(!) units.

Tatras T613

A new attempt then. Again, the T613 was taken as the starting point to develop a modernized Tatra. Now the main work was done on the engine. Emissions were greatly reduced by using an injection system and dual catalytic converters. But the appearance was also addressed. British designer Geoff Wardle doused the car with a 90s sauce. In this way, the public in the former Eastern Bloc had to be tempted to remain loyal to Tatra – and the best thing would be if buyers in the West also went for the T700, as the car was now called. From 1996, the Tatra T700 stumbled on the market and finally fell in 1999. The most optimistic production figure is 72, but there is also talk of 65 units. This T700 marked the end of Tatra as a passenger car builder. The brand was too entangled in the Iron Curtain to stand up to the invasion of Western brands. The history of Tatra started in 1850 with the building of carriages and in 1897 people were early on with a car. Today trucks are still built at Tatra.

When the curtain fell for the T700, a new model was already under development: the Tatra 625 could be called a Porsche Panamera-like car with today’s knowledge. He had a new V8, this time water-cooled and placed in the front. Everything was ready for production. But that baby was thrown out with the bathwater.

This article originally appeared in AutoWeek Classics issue 1 of 2018.