Tatra 613 Turns 50 This Year—Celebrating Its Czech Roots

Out of the blue, would you be able to answer an automotive trivia question: What's an air-cooled V8 sedan styled by Vignale that entered production in the 1970s?

The answer is the Tatra 613, and this year it turns 50.

But odds are, if you haven't been to the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, you probably haven't seen one of these rare sedans.

Intended as a successor to the equally rear-engined and ultimately more famous 603, the sharp-edged 613 was indeed styled by Vignale, pairing a businesslike, modern exterior with a more modest footprint. It's styling was also more conservative than that of the aerodynamic 603, which was quite unique on the outside even during its heyday in Czechoslovakia.

Powered by a 3.5-liter V8 good for 165 hp, the 613 was one of just a handful of Eastern Bloc sedans that had a V8 of any sort, but unlike most others it was paired with a manual transmission. And this engine placement, frequently described as rear- to mid-mounted, also gave the Tatra one other quality rare for the day: 45/55 weight distribution.

The Tatra 613's calling in life was still that of a "director's car," including this green 1978 example that originally registered to a construction company in Czechoslovakia, before making its way stateside much later, and into the collection of Ivo Slezak from Massachusetts.

Most 613s, including this example, were originally finished in black. But at some point this one was repainted to a more unusual green hue, Ivo told us.

The early series 613s, produced from 1974 until about 1980, were called the chromka, and perhaps it's easy enough to guess why: The early version of its front fascia featured chrome-rimmed headlights. Later on in the production run Tatra updated the 613 quite a few times, with the car's visage losing some of its early charm.

That charm extends to the green velour-trimmed interior, which was spacious and luxurious for the time, though on the outside the 613 does not seem like a large car today—especially by American standards.

Those who have owned a Volvo 240 will perhaps find the interior of the Tatra to be somewhat familiar in materials, complete with a satisfying clunk of the doors, though it's still far more compact than many domestic sedans of the 1970s.

Speaking of American cars, just how thirsty could that V8 possibly be?

Ivo told us it gets about 20 mpg when we went for a spin in the 613 along the roads of northern Massachusetts.

The 613 occupied a curious place in the hierarchy of official cars of Eastern Bloc states. Almost nowhere could a private citizen actually buy one until the early 1990s, but it wasn't quite in the same league as a V8-engined GAZ 14 Chaika.

It was clearly positioned a step above the GAZ 24 and the 3102 sedans that sometimes had a V8 paired with an automatic transmission, though most examples from Gorky relied on inline-sixes paired with manuals.

This made the 613 a curious but rare choice for government agencies in the former USSR, with Moscow police at one point employing a fleet of black 613s with lightbars and some minimal graphics, used mostly for escorting motorcades.

And of course, a few were used as police cars in Czechoslovakia as well, wearing the country's distinctive yellow and white Veřejná Bezpečnost livery.

Driving around town, the 613 still retains that air-cooled thrum that will be familiar to classic VW owners. But the Tatra, of course, packed a lot more performance along with a thoroughly revised suspension compared to its predecessors, which had a reputation for somewhat tricky handling that will be familiar to classic Porsche owners.

The 613 is more stable in the corners, Ivo assured us. With the engine out back occupying a roomy compartment, this means there's more space in the frunk for all your luggage. This has made the 613 a reliable ride for Ivo, having road-tripped from Massachusetts to Wisconsin at one point a decade ago, covering 500 miles a day.

But not too many people who spot it on the road will know just what it is.

The sedan's Vignale design details sometimes pop up in conversations at classic car shows, Ivo told us. When people don't know, sometimes they guess Fiat.

A decade ago there were about 15 to 20 examples of the 613 stateside, with most of them in the Lane Motor Museum. But since that time, a few more have entered the country, including some later variants.

Ivo's lovely 613 was at Greenwich Concours in 2005, as were some of his other Tatras, and the Czech marque has since had its own class at Pebble. So you don't actually have to travel to Nashville for a chance to see one. But if you want to see several in one place, that's the city to visit.

Have you seen a Tatra at concours events in the US? Let us know in the comments below.