Tatra 623
Car of the Day #141: 1980 Tatra 623 – Safe cars in strange places
As so often happens when writing this newsletter and website, connections begin to form where I had no clue they existed.
Recently, I was researching one Tatra and ended up discovering an entirely different model entirely. Better, this is a strange enough tale to have you scouring European classified ads for weeks for one of these very rare cars…
As race track safety started to be taken seriously, especially for tracks that hosted Formula 1 events, a set of standard procedures started to take root. Thanks to pioneer such as Sid Watkins (d.2012) and many others, race track facilities began to see dedicated medical buildings, helipads for emergency evacuations, better-trained medical teams and marshals, and, finally: kick-ass pace cars to follow the F1 drivers during the first lap of the race.
Tatra 623 in testing • via wheelsage
Even now, in 2024, the medical car follows cars through the entire first lap, and has to be fast enough to not be caught up by the field — a task easier said than done.
The reason is simple: accidents are most likely to happen during the first lap, and by sending a medical car to drive through each first lap, doctors are able to significantly cut response times. These first responders are there to stabilize the driver, and help in the immediate aftermath of an accident.
It may seem obvious, but medical cars have one other job: don’t crash into racing drivers at the side of the track.
That’s exactly what clipped the wings of one of the most innovative cars you’ve never heard of: the Tatra 623 ‘Rapid Response’ vehicle:
