The last passenger car to ever be produced with the Tatra badge was the 700 limousine . The thoroughly redesigned Tatra 613, however, never met the expectations of customers who expected a well-equipped and technically refined car , thus writing a sad dot for the production of passenger cars of the once famous car company.
The Tatra 700 is the latest evolution of the Tatra 613 and specifically its version 613-4 Mi Long. The modernization of the 613 had been considered for a long time and that is why the President concept came in 1994, which actually foreshadowed the future of the T613. The already mentioned T613-4 Mi Long was used as the starting model for the construction of the prototype, named after the first Kopřivnice car and designed by Václav Král . The king gave the big sedan an unforgettable look with a massive rear and a completely redesigned front with headlights from Volvo. The engine is powered by an air-cooled 3.5-liter inline eight-cylinder engine with a capacity of 200 horsepower, which sends power to the rear wheels via a five-speed manual transmission.
The presentation (presented only in a narrow circle of people, today the President is part of the Tatra Museum in Kopřivnice ) and the production of the concept designed by Václav Král ultimately failed, but the modernized 613 did appear. At the beginning of 1995, British designer Geoff Wardle was entrusted with the design of the successor to the Tatra 613, then already under the name Tatra 700. The first model in the 1:1 version was completed at the beginning of May of the same year, and two days before Christmas 1995, the first prototype left the factory. As you will read below, the interior in particular had to be adapted to the serial form. The production form was introduced in May 1996 when a presentation was held at the Hilton Hotel . In the same year, serial production of the Tatra 700 was launched, which, however, had the Tatra 613-5 written in the technical license for the entire period of production. The number 700 was actually only a sales designation. Versions up to 1997 were sold as the 700-1 and from 1997 until the end of production as the 700-2 .
Compared to the 613, the 700 is more rounded and has a completely new front end with smaller turn signals and headlights. The grille looked for inspiration in the legendary Tatra 603, the bumper, mirrors and door handles come from the Tatra 613 model year 1995 . At the back, there was a place for a new plastic deflector with a third brake light or for a chrome frame around the rear group lamps. However, the basic features of the predecessor have been preserved. After the facelift in 1997 , two moldings were added at the front of the car company's logo, which were supposed to evoke the previous Tatra 613. At the back, the characteristic C-pillar with recessed rear window was dropped. It was replaced by a conventional solution, and compared to the 700-1, the appearance of the lights and trunk lid also changed. The author of this modernization is Jiří Španihel .
For the first prototypes , the interior differed from the serial version. Others were the ventilation outlets, the instrument panel or the radio, air conditioning and ventilation controls. Thus, in 1995, when the first prototype was created, the management of Tatra ordered the interior to be remodeled. The production Tatra 700-1 already has an instrument panel taken from the Skoda Felicia model, some levers and controls from Honda models and a dashboard not unlike that of the Saab 9000, which is simple and will not offend. The basic equipment included a radio, power steering, analog clock and Diavia dual-zone air conditioning , rear passengers also had the option of connecting a personal computer and telephone. For an additional fee, the sedan could be equipped with a cooling box, heated seats, Recaro sports seats in the front (for 290,000 CZK!) or a video player with a color monitor (+ 137,000 CZK). After the modernization, the car received decent plush upholstery around the instrument cluster and a redesigned instrument and center panel with different controls for the radio, heating and air conditioning. Both versions have a height-adjustable four-spoke steering wheel , mostly in leather, with wooden paneling and leather upholstery. While the most common upholstery color for the first T700s was light gray and only some pieces have red leather upholstery, the T700-2 also features cream and dark gray leather. The advantage of both versions of the T700 is, especially at the back, large interior and very comfortable seats.
That the Tatra 700 was no slouch is proven by its dimensions – it is 5135 mm long , 1800 mm wide, 1440 mm high, and the wheelbase is 3130 mm long. Curb weight is 1,840 kg , but for later versions it increased by about 90 kg to 1,930 kg. The total weight of the T700 then exceeded 2 tons.
At such values, a decent engine had to take care of the drive. The basis was an air-cooled eight-cylinder with a volume of 3.5 liters and a power of 200 horsepower (the same engine as the President), which was located at the back. With this engine, the T700 accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in about 10.8 seconds, while it can reach speeds of up to 230 km/h and consumes 12.5 l/100 km. The torque has a value of 300 Nm and is transmitted to the rear wheels by a five-speed manual gearbox. Later, the development of a more powerful eight-cylinder 4.4 liter with a power of 233 hp and a torque of 380 Nm began. Karel Bordovský's team is responsible for this unit, and if it was mounted, then only in later T 700-2s. Compared to the weaker version, the stronger unit has better pull even from low revs. However, there are not many T700-2s with such a motor.
After its launch, the 700 was expected to be a success and help return Tatra to where it once belonged in passenger car production . It did not happen. Both Czech and mainly foreign customers expected a much larger portion of luxury and equipment from a car of this category, including, for example, airbags or ABS (although these elements were developed towards the end of production, they never appeared in a serial car). That 700 broke the neck. In 1997, according to the price list, the price of the Tatra 700 was CZK 1,649,000 ! In total, 62 T700-1 and T700-2 units were produced in Příbor and later in Kopřivnice in the years 1996-1998. The last one, 63 pieces, was no longer assembled in the factory, but in a service center in Prague from imported parts. Most of them served in large companies or in the state administration, from where the cars later got to private owners. The end of production of the 700-2 also definitively closed the chapter in the production of Tatra passenger cars . To this day, the company is in existential trouble and only produces trucks. And although there were hints of a possible resumption of small-series production of passenger cars in Kopřivnice, everything still remains only blind statements.
Even though Tatra was already in existential problems, the T700 gave rise to several very interesting versions. We devoted a separate article to the Tatra 700 GT , which has only the name and some design elements in common with the T700. I will just briefly remind you that this is a thoroughly rebuilt Tatra 613 GTH. At first it was a sedan , but after an accident one of the owners had it repaired and rebuilt, it is a coupe. Under the hood was originally an eight-cylinder with a volume of 4.5 liters with a V-shaped arrangement of cylinders with an output of 410 horsepower. Such a car reached 100 km/h in 5 seconds and reached a speed of up to 316 km/h! However, after that accident, a classic 3.5-liter eight-cylinder engine from the Tatra 700 got into the car. The current owner, who honestly renovated the car after the purchase, placed a more powerful 4.4 unit with a power of 233 hp in the engine compartment, which was also offered for a while in the standard 700. The armored version of the Tatra 700 , offered by the Přelúč company SVOS, was also intended for ordinary roads. It offered several levels of body armor from level M2/C2 to level M5/C5. However, there are no records of any armored Tatra 700 hitting the road. The Ecorra Sport V8 , which was originally created in 1997 to break the Czech speed record (this record was taken from him by the MTX Tatra V8 ), is intended for the race track. Only later was the Ecorra modified for circuit racing. The car sits on a Tatra 700 chassis, has a body made of aluminum and plastics, and under the hood is an eight-cylinder Tatra 4.5 with a power of 400 horsepower. The weight of the model is 1330 kg and it reaches 100 km/h in 4 seconds.
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Source: tatra700.cz, wikipedia.org, google.com, tatra-club.com
