06 Jul 01
Rear-engined cars were few and far between by the mid '70s, yet Tatra, cut off from the rest of the world in communist Czechoslovakia, was committed to the layout. So when the new 613 saloon appeared, nobody was shocked to find that its engine rested in the tail. Aware of the handling problems associated with tail-heavy cars, Tatra's boffins shifted the new four-cam, air-cooled unit much further forward in the chassis than in the old 603, ahead of the rear axle line. Thus, the 613 behaved far more predictably than its forerunner (which, in reality, handled much better than it looked).
All notions of aerodynamic styling had been abandoned in the new car in favour of a crisp, modern-looking body by Vignale of Italy. There had been talk of a two-door coupe version, but in fact all 613s had four-door bodywork and were intended for use by Government officials who enjoyed lots of legroom in the rear. These were swift, quiet cars built in small numbers as a sideline to Tatra's truck business. Since the fall of communism, their future has looked under threat from the influx of prestige European marques, but they remained in very limited production until 1998, in mildly modernised form.
