The Škoda 633 is a

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) ** Fourth Czechoslovak Repu ...

mid-size car Mid-size—also known as intermediate—is a vehicle size class which originated in the United States and is used for cars larger than compact cars and smaller than full-size cars. "Large family car" is a UK term and a part of the D-segment in ...

that was made by

Škoda Škoda means "pity" in the Czech and Slovak languages. It may also refer to: Czech brands and enterprises * Škoda Auto, automobile and previously bicycle manufacturer in Mladá Boleslav ** Škoda Motorsport, the division of Škoda Auto responsi ...

from 1931 to 1934.

Details

The Type 633 has a six-cylinder 1,792 cc

sidevalve A flathead engine, also known as a sidevalve engine''American Rodder'', 6/94, pp.45 & 93. or valve-in-block engine, is an internal combustion engine with its poppet valves contained within the engine block, instead of in the cylinder head, as ...

engine that produces . It is based on the 1,195 cc engine of the Škoda 422, with the number of cylinders increased from four to six. The Type 633 has a three-speed transmission and 12 Volt electrics. It has a top speed of and its fuel consumption is 12 litres per 100 km. Škoda built the Type 633 on a

ladder frame A vehicle frame, also historically known as its ''chassis'', is the main supporting structure of a motor vehicle to which all other components are attached, comparable to the skeleton of an organism. Until the 1930s, virtually every car had ...

and offered it as a two-door or four-door saloon or convertible. For 1934 Škoda slightly revised the saloon body with a more curvilinear roof. Škoda used a version of the Type 633's six-cylinder engine, enlarged to 1,961 cc, for the Type 637 which it launched in 1932. Škoda discontinued the 633 in 1934 after producing 504 cars. Withdrawal of the 633 left a gap in Škoda's range in the 1.8 litre class until 1936, when it launched the

Škoda Favorit Škoda Favorit is a model name that the Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak (and now Czech Republic, Czech) car maker Škoda Auto has used for two series of car models. The first series was the Škoda Favorit (1936–1941), Type 904 which was a 1.8 lit ...

Across the Sahara

In 1933 a Czechoslovak engineer, George Hanuš, drove a 633 from Czechoslovakia to

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

. He had commercial sponsors including Kudrnáč Náchod, Julius Meinl, Scintilla Vertex,

SKF AB SKF (, 'Swedish Ball Bearing Factory') is a Swedish bearing (mechanical), bearing and seal (mechanical), seal manufacturing company founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1907. The company manufactures and supplies bearings, seals, lubrication an ...

Vacuum Oil Company Vacuum Oil Company was an American petroleum, oil company. After being taken over by the original Standard Oil Company and then becoming independent again, in 1931 Vacuum Oil merged with the Mobil, Standard Oil Company of New York to form Socony ...

and

VARTA VARTA (; ) is a German company manufacturing batteries for global automotive, industrial, and consumer markets. History VARTA was founded by in 1887, and established in 1904 as a subsidiary of Accumulatoren-Fabrik AFA. After World War I, ...

. On 17 February 1933 Hanuš set off in the 633 from Radlík near

Jesenice Jesenice (, ''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru'', vol. 6: Kranjsko. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 144.) is the tenth-largest town in Slovenia, located in the traditional province of Upper C ...

central Bohemia The Central Bohemian Region ( ; ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in the Czech capital Prague, which lies in the centre of the regio ...

. He crossed by ship from

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

and then drove across the

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

, reaching Dakar on 17 March after exactly a month. The difficult journey increased fuel consumption to an average of 13.75 litres per 100 km. On the harshest section, which took him south to

Gao Gao (or Gawgaw/Kawkaw) is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley. For much of its history Gao was an imp ...

, consumption rose to 18 litres per 100 km. But the car remained reliable and completed the journey without a breakdown.

References

Source

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skoda 633 Cars introduced in 1931

633 __NOTOC__ Year 633 (Roman numerals, DCXXXIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 633 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent ...