The new Edition 2024 is a different kind of book – it is THE book for the automotive enthusiast who wants to learn more about the stories of long forgotten automobiles, brands and other developments. Whether rare, fast or strange – many interesting stories in conjunction with precise historical accuracy, flanged by many historical photographs and illustrations of autocult models produced in 2024, make this book (as well as all future editions) a reading experience for those interested in automotive history. Since time does not “stand still” and we also want to make a small contribution to a “greener world”, we decided not to print the book in a certain number of copies as in the years before. Instead we decided to enclose our autocult-edition 2024 digitally on an USB-Stick to our ‘Model of the Year’.
Attempts at Tatra to find a successor to the 603 sedan were unsuccessful form 1956 until the mid-1960s. In 1966, however, the project was pushed again and a call was made for proposals. In the end, several hundred drafts piled up, the first viewing of which already decimated number of serious versions considerably. In the end, twenty submissions were shortlisted, which emerged as promising for the jury. This was then implemented as a model on a scale of 1:10.
In a further narrowing, only five models remained and their design was now worked out in original size. They were given the abbreviations X/1 to X/5 in the Tatra internal numbering of the project.
The two versions X/2 and X/3 were created under the direction of Ing. Arch Otto Diblik and were similar in some respects. The most striking feature of these two proposals was the end of the rear window. As usual, this sat reasonably upright in the frame, but the body reflected the extremely unusual and probably also very revolutionary look of a wedge-shaped end. This was undoubtedly the eye-catcher of the four-door sedan, but the rear bumper, which was well integrated into the look, with a seamless transition into the rear light sections on the left and right, also looked very far-sighted. How this could have been implemented in reality and thus in series production in the second half of the 1960s cannot be judged, because it remained the only design object that was not ready to drive.