automotivebriefs
Marque

Tatra

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9:30

Tatra 603

František Kardaus · 1956

The Tatra 603 is a large rear-engined luxury saloon produced by Tatra from 1956 to 1975. It continues the streamlined sedan lineage begun with the Tatra 77. In Socialist Czechoslovakia, only high-ranking party officials and factory heads were driven in 603s; the car was also exported to allied countries. Three successive versions—the T603, 2-603, and unofficial -3—were manufactured, distinguished by headlamp arrangements and progressive updates including disc brakes and contactless thyristor ignition. Its V8 overhead valve hemi engine was air-cooled and derived from earlier Tatra models. A total of 20,422 units were built, mostly by hand.

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9:31

Tatra 77

Hans Ledwinka · 1934

The Tatra 77 is one of the first serial-produced, truly aerodynamically-designed automobiles, produced by Czechoslovak company Tatra from 1934 to 1938. It was developed by Hans Ledwinka and Paul Jaray, the Zeppelin aerodynamic engineer. Launched in 1934, the Tatra 77 is a coach-built automobile, constructed on a platform chassis with a pressed box-section steel backbone rather than Tatra's trademark tubular chassis, and is powered by a 60 horsepower (45 kW) rear-mounted 2.97-litre air-cooled V8 engine, in later series increased to a 75 horsepower (56 kW) 3.4-litre engine. It possessed advanced engineering features, such as overhead valves, hemispherical combustion chambers, a dry sump, fully independent suspension, rear swing axles and extensive use of lightweight magnesium alloy for the engine, transmission, suspension and body. Another one of his significant contributions to automotive design was the streamlined car body. Under him, Tatra brought the first mass-produced streamlined cars to the market. With his son Erich, who became chief designer at Tatra, Ledwinka and Erich Übelacker, a German engineer also employed by Tatra, designed the streamlined Tatra models T77, T77a, T87, and T97, all of which have rear-mounted air-cooled engines.

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10:06

Tatra 87

Hans Ledwinka · 1936

The Tatra 87 is a Czechoslovak-built, rear-engine, streamlined saloon produced from 1936 to 1950. Designed by Hans Ledwinka, Erich Ledwinka, and Erich Übelacker. Based on Paul Jaray’s aerodynamic proposals.