Every few months we have an interesting piece come in through our donation programs at Car Donation Wizard. This month’s most interesting donated auto is a 1950 Tatra 600 donated through the American Cancer Society’s Cars for a Cure Vehicle Donation Program. The Tatra 600 was named the Tatraplan and was a luxury automobile produced in Czechoslovakia, behind the Iron Curtain. The 600 has a very interesting history to go with the outstanding craftsmanship and amazing art deco design. This was one of the last luxury automobiles produced in the communist Eastern Europe.
After World War II, Tatra returned to its pre-war business of building passenger cars in addition to commercial (and military) vehicles. Tatra manufacturing was nationalized in 1946 two years before the Communist takeover in 1948. The Tatra 600 Tatraplan was designed in 1946-47 to celebrate nationalism and developing communist pride but also celebrated technology and had a distinct éroplan inspiration (‘éroplan’ means airplane in colloquial Czech).
The 600 went into mass production in 1948 and was discontinued in1952.[2] The Tatraplan has a six-seater sleek saloon body and was powered by an air-cooled flat-4-cylinder 1,952 cc rear-mounted engine (check out the fan design prominently featured on the rear motor). Only 6,342 were made and very few found there way to the United States. Tatra and VW have a very interesting history. Tatra sued the Nazi pride designed VW for stealing design elements of their cars. Tatra Won!
Again, this is a donated car. The donor had the vehicle in storage for many years before donating it to the American Cancer Society. It’s a very, very cool donated vehicle. The car is not in running condition and is in need of a complete rebuild but it is incredibly rare and in high demand.
The proceeds from the sale of this rare beauty will go to support the important work and mission of the American Cancer Society. Over 75-80% of the gross sale of the vehicle will go to support cancer prevention and research. No other vehicle donation program returns nearly that amount to the charity. That’s why the programs at Car Donation Wizard are the very best! See more photos of the Tatra below!
Join the fight against cancer by donating your unique car online or calling us at (888) 227-5500!