This is the 1997 Tatra 700, designed by British designer Geoff Wardle, this was a heavily revamped variation of the rear wheel driven Tatra 613 of 1974–1996. If you haven’t heard of the Tatra company, they operate as a Czech vehicle manufacturer from Kopřivnice. Tatra is owned by TATRA TRUCKS a.s. current day, however, it’s important to note that it’s also the third oldest company in the world producing motor vehicles. The company was first founded by an entrepreneur named Ignaz Schustala in 1850 as Ignatz Schustala & Cie, a horse-drawn vehicles manufacturer in Kopřivnice. By the 1880s, the company progressed into producing railroad cars, and in 1890, now operating as a joint-stock company, also came a new name, Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriksgesellschaft. In 1891, following the passing Ignaz Schustala, an engineer by the name of Hugo Fischer von Röslerstamm, the companies technical director, went on to take over the management of Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriksgesellschaft. In the year 1897, the company produced their very first automobile, the Präsident, thanks to the talented work of Austrian automobile designer Hans Ledwinka alongside Austrian automobile and aircraft designer, Edmund Rumpler. The companies name changed many times over the years including the change from the Nesselsdorfer marque to theTatra badging in 1919, Kopřivnická vozovka in 1921, Závody Tatra in 1924, Ringhoffer-Tatra in 1927, and so forth until the company eventually just became known as Tatra. The Tatra 700 was the very last large luxury car produced by the company before they would redirect focus towards truck design and manufacturing, and is also one of the world’s very last production cars with an air-cooled engine. The model was mainly offered as a 4-door saloon with a 3.5L V8 engine, however, around 14 total were 700-2 versions with a 4.3L engine instead. A one-off model known as the T700 GT is also believed to have been built.
How many made? Approximately 75
Engine: 3.5 L V8 (petrol), 4.3 L V8 (petrol), 4.4 L V8 (petrol)
Debut: 1995 at the Hilton Hotel in Prague.
Top speed: around 143-155mph
0-60mph: around 10.8 seconds
Research: @rarecarsonly
Photo Credit: @anquistor