Tatra (car)
Encyclopedia
Tatra is a vehicle manufacturer in Kopřivnice
, Czech Republic
. The company was founded in 1850 as Schustala & Company later renamed Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriksgesellschaft, a wagon and carriage manufacturer, and in 1897 produced the first motor car in central Europe, the Präsident
. In 1918, it changed its name to Kopřivnická vozovka a.s. and, in 1919, started to use the Tatra badge named after the nearby Tatra mountains
in Slovakia
. Tatra is the third oldest car maker
in the world after Daimler-Benz and Peugeot
. During World War II Tatra was instrumental in the production of trucks, and tank engines for the German war effort. Production of Tatra cars ceased in 1999 but the company still produces a range of primarily all-wheel-drive 4×4
, 6×6
, 8×8
, 10×10, and 12×12 trucks.
(1822–1891), founder of the company in Kopřivnice
, Moravia
, started the production of horse-drawn vehicle
s in 1850. In 1891 he branched out into railroad car
manufacture, naming the company Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriksgesellschaft, and employed Hugo Fischer von Roeslerstamm as technical director in 1890. After the death of Šustala, von Roeslerstamm took over running the company and in 1897 he bought a Benz automobile. Using this for inspiration, the company made its first car, the Präsident
, which was exhibited in 1897 in Vienna. Orders were obtained for more cars and under the direction of engineers Hans Ledwinka
and Edmund Rumpler
, ten improved cars were made.
The first car to be totally designed by Ledwinka came in 1900 with the Type A with rear-mounted 2714 cc engine and top speed of 40 kilometre per hour, 22 were made. This was followed by the Type B
with central engine in 1902 but then Ledwinka left the company to concentrate on steam engine development. He returned in 1905 and designed a completely new car, the Type S
with 3308 cc 4-cylinder engine. Production was badly hit in 1912 with a 23-week strike and Hugo Fischer von Roslerstam left the company.
After World War I Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau was renamed Kopřivnická vozovka, and in 1919 the name Tatra was given to the car range. Leopold Pasching took over control and in 1921 Hans Ledwinka returned again to develop the revolutionary Tatra 11
.
The new car, launched in 1923 featured a rigid backbone tube with swinging semi-axles at the rear giving independent suspension. The engine, front-mounted, was an air-cooled two-cylinder unit of 1056 cc. The Tatra 11 was replaced in 1926 by the similar Tatra 12
which had four-wheel brakes. A further development was the 1926 Tatra 17
with a 1,930 cc water-cooled six- cylinder engine and fully independent suspension.
In 1927 the company was renamed Závody Ringhoffer-Tatra a.s..
Tatra's specialty was luxury cars of a technically advanced nature, going from aircooled flat-twins to fours and sixes, culminating (briefly) with the OHC
6 litre V12
in 1931. In the 1930s, under Austria
n engineer Hans Ledwinka
, his son Erich and German engineer Erich Übelacker
and protected by a high tariff and absence of foreign assemblers, Tatra then began building advanced, streamlined cars after obtaining licences from Paul Jaray
, which started in 1934 with the large Tatra T77
, the world's first production aerodynamic
car. The fastback
T77's drag coefficient
of 0.212 is rarely bettered even by the sleekest of modern cars. It featured (as did almost all subsequent big Tatras) a rear-mounted
, air-cooled V8 engine, which was in technical terms very sophisticated for the time.
and Porsche were influenced by the Tatras. Hitler was a keen automotive enthusiast, and had ridden in Tatras during political tours of Czechoslovakia. He had also dined numerous times with Ledwinka. After one of these dinners Hitler remarked to Porsche, "This is the car for my roads". From 1933 onwards, Ledwinka and Porsche met regularly to discuss their designs, and Porsche admitted "Well, sometimes I looked over his shoulder and sometimes he looked over mine" while designing the Volkswagen. There is no doubt that the Beetle bore a striking resemblance to the Tatras, particularly the Tatra V570
. The Tatra T97
of 1936 had a rear-located, rear-wheel drive, air-cooled four-cylinder boxer engine accommodating four passengers and providing luggage storage under the front bonnet and behind the rear seat. Among other similarities also found in the Beetle is the central structural tunnel.
Tatra launched a lawsuit, but this was stopped when Germany invaded Czechoslovakia. At the same time, Tatra was forced to stop producing the T97. The matter was re-opened after World War II and in 1961 Volkswagen
paid Ringhoffer-Tatra 3,000,000 Deutsche Marks in an out of court settlement.
by Nazi Germany
, Tatras continued in production, largely because Germans liked the cars. Many German officers met their deaths driving heavy, rear-engined
Tatras faster around corners than they could handle
. At the time, as an anecdote
, Tatra became known as the 'Czech Secret Weapon' for the scores of officers who died behind the wheel; at one point official orders were issued forbidding German officers from driving Tatras.
came to power and renamed to Tatra Národní Podnik. Although production of prewar models continued, a new model, the Tatra T600 Tatraplan
was designed—the name celebrating the new Communist planned economy
and the aeroplane inspiration (Colloq. Czech: eroplan). It went into production in 1948. In 1951, the state planning department decided that the Tatraplan should henceforth be built at the Skoda
plant in Mladá Boleslav
, leaving Tatra free to concentrate on trucks, buses and railway equipment.
, Tatra was again given permission to produce a luxury car, the Tatra T603
. A fair successor to the prewar cars, it was also driven by a rear-mounted, air-cooled V8 and had the company's trademark aerodynamic styling. Uniquely, the Tatra T603 featured three headlights, and the first prototypes had a central rear stabilising fin, though this was lost for production. Fitted with almost American-style
thick chrome
bumpers with bullets (a.k.a. Dagmar bumpers
), the Tatra T603 was an amazing looking car for 1955. Performance was spritely for a large, six-seater car, and the ride was smooth. Almost entirely hand-built, Tatras were not for everybody; normal citizens could not buy them. They were reserved for Party elites, communist officials, factory presidents and other notables, as well as being exported to most other communist nations as official cars. Even Fidel Castro
had a white Tatra T603, custom-fitted with air conditioning.
Tatra T603s were built until 1975, a twenty-year era as one of Communism's finest cars. Numerous improvements were made over this time, but not all the new cars built in this period were actually new. When a new Tatra replaced an old, the old vehicle was returned to the factory. There, it was upgraded to modern condition, refinished, dubbed new and sent out again as a putatively new vehicle to replace another older Tatra. This makes it hard to trace the history of surviving vehicles.
In 1968 a replacement was developed; the Tatra T613
. It was styled by the Italian
styling house of Vignale
and was a more modern, less rounded shape. It was not until 1973 that any were actually produced by the factory, and volume production did not begin until the following year. Although the layout remained the same, the body was all new, as was the engine, being equipped with four overhead camshafts, a higher capacity (3495 cc) and an output close to 165 bhp. In addition, it had been moved somewhat forward for improved balance. These cars were built in five series and several modifications until 1996. It is a tribute to Vignale's styling that they did not look dated until rather late in that time period. Over 11,000 cars were built, slowing to a trickle of but a few dozen a year towards the end as Tatras began to seem more and more outdated.
The Tatra T700 was a large luxury car released in 1996 by Tatra, essentially a heavily restyled version of the Tatra T613 model it replaced.
The T700 was offered as both a saloon and coupé with either a 3.5 or 4.4 litre 90° air-cooled V8 petrol engine.
The model was not successful nor produced in large numbers, and production halted in 1999; the Tatra T700 was the last passenger car made by Tatra, which then concentrated on commercial vehicles.
and Peugeot
into the Czech Republic
, further eroded Tatra's sales. Production of the T700 ended in 1999.
Tatra MTX V8
the fastest czech car of all time started from Kopřivnice Tatra in 1991. Under the hood lies V8 169 kW, 6000 rpm. from 0 to 100 will be given as 5.6 seconds. Maximum speed reaches is 265 km / h. It is the work of legendary Czech designer Václav Král. On the world is only 5 pieces.
Among western collectors Tatra automobiles remain largely unknown. The largest display of Tatra vehicles in the United States is at the Lane Motor Museum
in Nashville, Tennessee
. The museum's eclectic automobile collection contains 12 Tatra models, including a T-613 ambulance. When talk show host and car collector Jay Leno
visited the museum, the founder picked him up in a 1947 Tatra T-87, prompting Leno to purchase one himself. Leno soon become an advocate for the brand. In the United States the few Tatra clubs are closely associated with Citroen
clubs, as many Tatra collectors also collect Citroen DS
series cars.
manufactured at Kopřivnice in 1898 was a flatbed with 2 liquid-cooled side-by-side-mounted two-cylinder Benz engines each at 2.7 L capacity with total power output of 8.8 kW (12 hp) placed after the rear axle and cargo capacity of 2.5 ton. The unique feature of the engines setup was that the engines could be operated sequentially depending on the load requirements. No 1 engine was started via a cranking handle and had a flywheel attached and No 2 engine without the flywheel was connected via a gear clutch and started by the first engine already running.
The second truck manufactured was once again a flatbed R type of 2.5 ton cargo capacity build in 1909. Powered by liquid-cooled petrol four-cylinder engine of 4.1 L capacity and power output of 18.4 kW (25 hp) with the engine placed above front axle which is the conventional design to this day. The vehicle featured solid rubber tyres and semi-elliptic leaf spring suspension.
In 1910 Tatra manufactured its first bus the Omnibus type SO with total production of 5 units.
. In the year 1914 there were only 2 trucks made, type T 14/40 HP, however by the 1915 end the production jumped to the total of 105 TL-2 units and the following year 1916 the numbers rose to total of 196 TL-2 and 30 TL-4 truthe time peaked in 1917 with 19 TL-2 and 303 TL-4 models, after that production declined and the similar amount of vehicles of one type manufactured in a year was not achieved or surpassed until 1936 with the T 27 model.
Technically models TL-2 and TL-4 were almost identically designed, in fact TL-4 evolved from TL-2 where both had liquid-cooled OHC engines of max power output of 25.7 kW. The TL-2 had a GVM
2100 kg (4,630 lb) and 4000 kg (8,818 lb) GCM
, TL-4 had 2700 kg (5,952 lb) GVM and 6700 kg (14,771 lb) GCM respectively. Both types remained in production in small series until 1927. The TL-4 is considered the first truck to come out of NW (Nesselsdorfer Wagen-bau) to carry the name Tatra in 1919.
n army at the time and was also manufactured under license by the French
company Lorraine-Dietrich. In 1933 Tatra build limited series of T25 heavy artillery hauler with 4 and 6-cylinder petrol engines. The most popular Tatra truck before World War II
was type T27 powered by 4-cylinder petrol or diesel engines and remained in production for nearly 17 years (1930–1947) with total production of 7,620 units, by adding an extra axle to the rear the type T28 was created however, it was not successful and only limited production resulted in a mainly bus chassis. In the period from 1931 to 1938 Tatra also built a small utility truck based on the chassis from T30 named Tatra T43 which remain popular with small business owners. T72 model successfully continued the line to T82
built mainly for military in cargo and personnel transport between 1935 and 1938 and further to T92 and T93 built for Romania
n army from 1938 to 1941 which were identical except T93 had also a driven front axle.
. Apart from the existing line up of T27, T92/92 a new heavy truck T81 commenced the production featuring liquid-cooled 12.5 L V8 diesel engine with power output 118 kW in 6×4 axle configuration. This vehicle evolved in 1942 into legendary T111 which continued its production until 1962 with the total of 33,690 unit made. T111 also featured Tatra's first air-cooled diesel engine a massive V12 originally designed for the armoured Sd Kfz. 234 Puma. In the latter stages of World War II Tatra was instrumental in the development of air-cooled diesel engines for German tanks. In late 1944 General Heinz Guderian
ordered that production of the Type 38(t) Hetzer
tank be modified to incorporate a Tatra Type 928 V-8 air-cooled diesel engine, though this order was delayed so production could continue uninterrupted. After the war T111 contributed heavily into rebuilding effort in Central
and Eastern Europe
and for its exploits at Far East
of USSR had a memorial built at Magadan
Siberia
.
in Brno
.
The production of T111 however continued alongside T138 series until 1962. T138 itself continued in production until 1969 when it was replaced by improved T148 where designers main target was increase in power output, reliability and product improvements.
In 1967 Tatra began production of one of its famous off-road trucks the T813 using its modular construction technology; the model incorporated the latest trends in commercial vehicle design such as cab-over-engine (COE) and wide profile tyres. It featured a new V12 engine and all military versions had a central tyre inflation/deflation system as standard equipment. The T813 was designed to tow loads up to 100 ton GCM
and it was a familiar sight on the roads in Czechoslovakia hauling large often over-sized loads.
council a directive that Tatra N.P. would be a sole supplier of off road commercial vehicles of <12 ton capacity for Eastern Block countries, led to a modernization of company and its production models. Following extensive testing at different sites, including Siberia, the type T815 was introduced in 1982 and production started in 1983. Comparing to previous models T815 was made of 142 main assembly components as opposed to 219 main assembly components of its predecessor. The engines power output was increased up to 45% and a new COE tilt-able cabin was introduced. Modular engine designed resulted in V8, V10 and V12 engines with or without turbocharger. T815 was upgraded to T815-2 with minor cosmetic changes and improved ergonomics and safety - the biggest change was the engine emissions accordance the "Euro0" limits and to Euro1 limits in 1993 (turbocharged V8 engine only since this time for the full legislation. As alternative was offered also the Deutz
513 aircooled V8 engine). The next facelift in 1997 brought in the new exterior design cabin TerrNo1 with all new interior with better sound and heat insulation however the cabin design is based on the original so it can actually be retrofitted to all T815 built since 1993. In 2000 the TerrNo1 cabin is face-lifted again and for the first time there is an option to fit liquid-cooled engines.
The TerrNo1 model introduced the "KingFrame" rear axles suspension. Another evolution step T3B engine came with the Euro2 emission limit.
Following further improvements in 2003 T815 gets new Euro3 T3C V8 engine mated to all new 14-speed range+split gearbox as well as option for engines from other suppliers most notably CAT
, Cummins
, Detroit Diesel
, Deutz
and MTU
with its "monster" 22.5 Litre V12 and up to 610 kW power output!
In September 2006 Tatra introduced its Euro4 compliant turbocharged T3D engine with the SCR
exhaust technology and in February 2008 the worlds's first Euro 5 compliant aircooled diesel engine based on T3D engine
The evolution of Tatra T815 would not be complete without mentioning its derivates T816 (T815-6) Armax and Force series which had its origin back in 1993 when Tatra participated in the tender process for heavy duty off road trucks for UAE army and after two years of bidding the company was successful in securing a contract worth $ 180 million.
The resulting model became known as T816 "LIWA" (Arabic
for "desert"). The latest model for the military customers is T817(T815-7) marketed as high-mobility heavy-duty tactical truck with low profile cabin for C-130 Hercules transportability for NATO member countries armed services.
Tatra also went back to its roots and decided to produce once again a bonneted CBE heavy duty off road truck to continue the successful line started with T111, so in 1999 the T163 Jamal
was put in to full production after first prototypes were built in 1997 and followed extensive testing including at Siberia, as a heavy duty dump truck, once again based on proven backbone tube chassis construction with the cabin designed by Jiří Španihel The T163
6×6 is used mainly on construction sites and in quarries.
Tatra was also a successful bidder for the Czech Army
replacement of aging Praga V3S (with the Tatra I6 aircooled engine - one half of the T111 V12 one) medium off-road truck with T810
which technically is not a "genuine" Tatra as its origin goes back to when former Czech company ROSS, in partnership with Renault Trucks, obtained a contract to supply the army with medium size off-road trucks, the "ROSS R210 6×6". The company however went bankrupt in 1998 and Tatra bought full rights to the design, then modernized and reintroduced it as T810
while continuing cooperation with Renault. Under the deal Renault supplies the cabins and the engines and Praga
supplied axles and transmissions for the prototypes; however the whole project has been dogged by controversy due to the way Tatra had obtained the contract, its relationship with supplier Praga and the subsequent court case brought on against it by Praga.
The serial T810
vehicles are than finally equipped with the new design Tatra rigid axles with the WABCO
disc brakes, with the ZF
Ecolite transmission and Steyr
drop box.
Tatra decided to stop building the T613 in 1996. An attempt was made to produce an updated version, the Tatra T700
; it was largely based on the old car, with updated body panels and detail. Sales were poor, and having in its history produced a total of 90,000 cars, Tatra finally abandoned their manufacture in 1999 to concentrate on trucks.
The United States
Terex Corporation acquired the majority ownership (71%) of Tatra in late 2003. As of late 2006, however, majority ownership (80.51%) lies in the hands of Tatra Holdings s.r.o., an international consortium comprising Vectra Limited of UK, Sam Eyde of the U.S., KBC Private Equity of Belgium, Meadowhill s.r.o. of Czech Republic and Ronald Adams of the U.S. On 15 December 2006, a contract was signed between Tatra and the Czech Republic for 556 trucks at roughly $ 130 million, or 2.6 billion Czech crown
s. This contract was signed in lieu of replacement of older military vehicles.
In April 2007 Tatra announced that it had already matched its production in 2006 and produced 1,600 vehicles. In 2007 Tatra plans to produce between 2,300 and 2,500 vehicles. In contrast to previous years, Tatra has increased employment by the hundreds within the past two quarters, has reversed previous errors, and is growing again. Although there have been many struggles in the past decade, the company still remains one of the great prides of Czech industry and has proven to be a valuable asset to international engineering, with its unique assembly and production methods and designs.
In August 2011, DAF Trucks
announced it had built up a 19% stake in Tatra, which will use DAF cabs and PACCAR
engines. DAF dealers will sell Tatra off-road trucks.
called Tatra Vectra Motors Ltd, formerly called Tatra Trucks India Ltd. It is a joint venture between Tatra and the Vectra Group from England. In 2009, Vectra
announced a new joint venture with Russia's Kamaz
to form Kamaz Vectra Motors Limited to manufacture Kamaz trucks in India., This joint venture replaced the former Tatra Vectra, that Vectra had created with Tatra.
Tatra Vectra Motors Limited (TVML), formerly known as Tatra Trucks India Limited, is a joint venture between Tatra a.s. of Czech Republic (a part of Terex corporation, USA) and the Vectra group, a UK based NRI company, having substantial business interests in UK, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, CIS, Singapore and India. The manufacturing plant is located in Hosur, Tamilnadu, around 35 km from Bangalore. The fully integrated manufacturing facility includes an engine assembly and testing plant, a cabin welding shop, a frame fabrication shop and a test track.
Most Tatra trucks for sale in India are manufactured indigenously in collaboration with Bharat Earth Movers Limited.
In 2002, the company received a 1,070 trucks order from the Government of India
. Tatra's growing involvement in India's defense industry is often cited as an example of growing relations between Czech Republic and India.
In 2010 the Indian Government ordered 788 vehicles from public sector defence equipment manufacturer BEML. The order comprises supply of 498 8×8 vehicles, 278 6×6 vehicles without winch and 12 6×6 with winch.
Reportedly following one of Israeli-Arab conflicts, Israel
tested some Tatras captured from neighbour Arab armed forces. Tzahal's command was apparently quite impressed with their performance, independence of cooling water for long-range raiding operations etc., and felt necessary to include these trucks in their arsenal. As direct purchase from oppositely aligned Czechoslovakia was impossible, the lore has it that Israelis used some well-paid services of Ceaușescu's Romania
to purchase sand-coloured, desert-equipped Tatra trucks, causing much fun along the "Romania has a new desert" line in Kopřivnice. Current photos of various Israeli weapon systems, e.g. SPYDER
slated e.g. for India, show new Tatras as the carrier vehicles, confirming the quality of the Czech(oslovak) hardware.
A number of Tatra trucks entered service in the Israeli Army also after fall of the iron curtain, these however bear mark of "American Truck Company" (ATC), under which Tatras were sold on U.S. market.
and 3.5 times lower emission of nitrogen oxides compared to the previous engine. Further, production of air-cooled engines should significantly reduce the production of greenhouse gasses due to the absence of liquid cooling systems. All Tatra vehicles from February 2008 onwards should use the new engine.
A month later, Tatra CEO Ronald Adams told The Prague Post Tatra could return to producing passenger cars, saying 'we would not come back to compete with the large automobile mass producers such as Volkswagen, Škoda, Toyota etc. But we might come back with a replica of the old Tatra cars using a current undercarriage and driveline from one of the major automotive producers.' The company has launched a feasibility study, hoping to produce one thousand replicas of their legendary Tatraplan and 603 cars in 2010.
In July 2008 pictures of a fuel cell concept car designed by Mike Jelinek, the Tatra 903, were shown.
Exposition in Paris, France (Jun 14-18 2010) the results of their strategic alliance since October 2009, the models ATX6 (universal container carrier) and ATX8 (troop carrier) The vehicles appear to be based on Tatra T815-7 (T817) 6×6, 8×8 chassis(see pics here), suspension and cabins while using Navistar engines and other componets. Under the deal Navistar Defence and Tatra A.S. will market the vehicles in North America, which includes sales to the United States military and foreign military sales financed by the United States government. Tatra will source parts and components through Navistar’s global parts and support network for Tatra trucks delivered in markets outside of North America as well as market Navistar-Tatra vehicles around the world in their primary markets.
Koprivnice
Kopřivnice is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has cca 23,500 inhabitants.- History :In 1850, both of the former villages, Drnholec nad Lubinou and Větřkovice, became a part of the political district of Nový Jičín within the judicial district Příbor...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. The company was founded in 1850 as Schustala & Company later renamed Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriksgesellschaft, a wagon and carriage manufacturer, and in 1897 produced the first motor car in central Europe, the Präsident
Präsident
The Präsident was an automobile manufactured by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft A.G. in 1897. Together with Lohner car, it was the first actually driveble factory made petrol-engined automobile produced in Austria-Hungary as well as in Central and Eastern Europe The Präsident was an...
. In 1918, it changed its name to Kopřivnická vozovka a.s. and, in 1919, started to use the Tatra badge named after the nearby Tatra mountains
Tatra Mountains
The Tatra Mountains, Tatras or Tatra , are a mountain range which forms a natural border between Slovakia and Poland, and are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains...
in Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
. Tatra is the third oldest car maker
Automotive industry
The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....
in the world after Daimler-Benz and Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
. During World War II Tatra was instrumental in the production of trucks, and tank engines for the German war effort. Production of Tatra cars ceased in 1999 but the company still produces a range of primarily all-wheel-drive 4×4
Four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4×4 is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...
, 6×6
Six-wheel drive
Six-wheel drive, 6WD or 6x6 is a drivetrain configuration of six wheels, all of which are driven simultaneously by the vehicle's engine. Unlike four-wheel drive drivetrains, the configuration is largely confined to off-road and military vehicles, particularly heavy-duty ones...
, 8×8
Eight-wheel drive
Eight-wheel drive, 8WD, or 8x8 is an eight-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all eight wheels to receive power from the engine simultaneously.Some severe/extreme duty semi tractors may have this configuration...
, 10×10, and 12×12 trucks.
Early years
Ignác ŠustalaIgnác Šustala
Ignác Šustala was a Czech entrepreneur, and the founder of the Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriksgesellschaft company, which later became Tatra.He was born in Kopřivnice....
(1822–1891), founder of the company in Kopřivnice
Koprivnice
Kopřivnice is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has cca 23,500 inhabitants.- History :In 1850, both of the former villages, Drnholec nad Lubinou and Větřkovice, became a part of the political district of Nový Jičín within the judicial district Příbor...
, Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
, started the production of horse-drawn vehicle
Horse-drawn vehicle
A horse-drawn vehicle is a mechanized piece of equipment pulled by one horse or by a team of horses. These vehicles typically had two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers and/or a load...
s in 1850. In 1891 he branched out into railroad car
Railroad car
A railroad car or railway vehicle , also known as a bogie in Indian English, is a vehicle on a rail transport system that is used for the carrying of cargo or passengers. Cars can be coupled together into a train and hauled by one or more locomotives...
manufacture, naming the company Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriksgesellschaft, and employed Hugo Fischer von Roeslerstamm as technical director in 1890. After the death of Šustala, von Roeslerstamm took over running the company and in 1897 he bought a Benz automobile. Using this for inspiration, the company made its first car, the Präsident
Präsident
The Präsident was an automobile manufactured by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft A.G. in 1897. Together with Lohner car, it was the first actually driveble factory made petrol-engined automobile produced in Austria-Hungary as well as in Central and Eastern Europe The Präsident was an...
, which was exhibited in 1897 in Vienna. Orders were obtained for more cars and under the direction of engineers Hans Ledwinka
Hans Ledwinka
Hans Ledwinka was an Austrian automobile designer.- Youth :Ledwinka was born was born in Klosterneuburg , near Vienna, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire....
and Edmund Rumpler
Edmund Rumpler
Edmund Rumpler was an Austrian automobile and aircraft designer.Born in Vienna, then Austro-Hungarian Empire , he worked mainly in Germany.Lyons 1988, p.73 An automotive engineer by training, he collaborated with Hans Ledwinka on the first Nesseldorf , the Präsident, in 1897.By age 30, in 1902, he...
, ten improved cars were made.
The first car to be totally designed by Ledwinka came in 1900 with the Type A with rear-mounted 2714 cc engine and top speed of 40 kilometre per hour, 22 were made. This was followed by the Type B
NW B
The NW type B is a veteran automobile manufactured by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft A.G. . Initially two cars were made under name Neuer Vierer in year 1901, but later the same car was manufactured under the name type B in 1902 - 1904...
with central engine in 1902 but then Ledwinka left the company to concentrate on steam engine development. He returned in 1905 and designed a completely new car, the Type S
NW S
The NW type S is a veteran automobile manufactured by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft A.G. .Hans Ledwinka, who left the company in 1902, was hired back in 1905 . Immediately he started working on a new car with modern and progressive design...
with 3308 cc 4-cylinder engine. Production was badly hit in 1912 with a 23-week strike and Hugo Fischer von Roslerstam left the company.
Tatra concept
After World War I Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau was renamed Kopřivnická vozovka, and in 1919 the name Tatra was given to the car range. Leopold Pasching took over control and in 1921 Hans Ledwinka returned again to develop the revolutionary Tatra 11
Tatra 11
The Tatra T11 was the first Tatra model to use the unique combination of major components that are still in use on the trucks produced by Tatra to this day.-Origins:...
.
The new car, launched in 1923 featured a rigid backbone tube with swinging semi-axles at the rear giving independent suspension. The engine, front-mounted, was an air-cooled two-cylinder unit of 1056 cc. The Tatra 11 was replaced in 1926 by the similar Tatra 12
Tatra 12
Tatra 12 is a model of vintage automobile made by Czech manufacturer Tatra.It was manufactured between 1923 and 1926. It was replaced by the Tatra 57 in 1932....
which had four-wheel brakes. A further development was the 1926 Tatra 17
Tatra 17
Tatra 17 is a vintage luxury automobile produced by the Czech manufacturer Tatra from 1925-1929.-Engine:The vehicle had a liquid-cooled six-cylinder OHC in-line Tatra 17 engine with and 35 hp power. This new block engine by Bevel had an aluminum cylinder head and the first Tatras to have a...
with a 1,930 cc water-cooled six- cylinder engine and fully independent suspension.
In 1927 the company was renamed Závody Ringhoffer-Tatra a.s..
Prewar streamliners
Overhead camshaft
Overhead cam valvetrain configurations place the engine camshaft within the cylinder heads, above the combustion chambers, and drive the valves or lifters in a more direct manner compared to overhead valves and pushrods...
6 litre V12
V12 engine
A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft....
in 1931. In the 1930s, under Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n engineer Hans Ledwinka
Hans Ledwinka
Hans Ledwinka was an Austrian automobile designer.- Youth :Ledwinka was born was born in Klosterneuburg , near Vienna, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire....
, his son Erich and German engineer Erich Übelacker
Erich Übelacker
Erich Übelacker, 19 October 1899 – 30 June 1977, automobile engineerÜbelacker studied mechanical engineering at Prague Technical University and subsequently worked there as an assistant to Professor Rudolf Dörfl. During 1927-1939 he worked at Tatra Works in Kopřivnice in Moravia under the...
and protected by a high tariff and absence of foreign assemblers, Tatra then began building advanced, streamlined cars after obtaining licences from Paul Jaray
Paul Jaray
Paul Jaray , 11 March 1889 Vienna–22 September 1974 St. Gallen, was an engineer and a pioneer of automotive streamlining.-Life:Jaray, of Hungarian-Jewish descent, was born in Vienna...
, which started in 1934 with the large Tatra T77
Tatra T77
The Czechoslovakian Tatra 77 is the first serial-produced truly aerodynamically designed automobile. It was developed by Hans Ledwinka and Paul Jaray, the noted Zeppelin aerodynamic engineer. Launched in 1934, the Tatra 77 is a coach-built automobile constructed on a central tube-steel chassis and...
, the world's first production aerodynamic
Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics is a branch of dynamics concerned with studying the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object. Aerodynamics is a subfield of fluid dynamics and gas dynamics, with much theory shared between them. Aerodynamics is often used synonymously with gas dynamics, with...
car. The fastback
Fastback
A fastback is a car body style whose roofline slopes continuously down at the back. The word can also designate the car itself. The style is seen on two-door coupés as well as four-door sedans.-History:...
T77's drag coefficient
Drag coefficient
In fluid dynamics, the drag coefficient is a dimensionless quantity that is used to quantify the drag or resistance of an object in a fluid environment such as air or water. It is used in the drag equation, where a lower drag coefficient indicates the object will have less aerodynamic or...
of 0.212 is rarely bettered even by the sleekest of modern cars. It featured (as did almost all subsequent big Tatras) a rear-mounted
Rear-engine design
In automobile design, a rear-engine design layout places the engine at the rear of the vehicle. The center of gravity of the engine itself is past the rear axle...
, air-cooled V8 engine, which was in technical terms very sophisticated for the time.
Tatra and the Volkswagen Beetle
Both HitlerAdolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and Porsche were influenced by the Tatras. Hitler was a keen automotive enthusiast, and had ridden in Tatras during political tours of Czechoslovakia. He had also dined numerous times with Ledwinka. After one of these dinners Hitler remarked to Porsche, "This is the car for my roads". From 1933 onwards, Ledwinka and Porsche met regularly to discuss their designs, and Porsche admitted "Well, sometimes I looked over his shoulder and sometimes he looked over mine" while designing the Volkswagen. There is no doubt that the Beetle bore a striking resemblance to the Tatras, particularly the Tatra V570
Tatra V570
Tatra V570 was a prototype early 1930s car developed by a team led by Hans Ledwinka and Paul Jaray. The aim of the construction team was to develop cheap people's car with an aerodynamic body...
. The Tatra T97
Tatra T97
The Type 97 is a mid-class saloon car from Czechoslovak car-maker Tatra. It was produced for a short time in the pre-war period, from 1936 to 1939.- History :...
of 1936 had a rear-located, rear-wheel drive, air-cooled four-cylinder boxer engine accommodating four passengers and providing luggage storage under the front bonnet and behind the rear seat. Among other similarities also found in the Beetle is the central structural tunnel.
Tatra launched a lawsuit, but this was stopped when Germany invaded Czechoslovakia. At the same time, Tatra was forced to stop producing the T97. The matter was re-opened after World War II and in 1961 Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
paid Ringhoffer-Tatra 3,000,000 Deutsche Marks in an out of court settlement.
War years
After the 1938 invasion of CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
by Nazi Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Tatras continued in production, largely because Germans liked the cars. Many German officers met their deaths driving heavy, rear-engined
Rear-engine design
In automobile design, a rear-engine design layout places the engine at the rear of the vehicle. The center of gravity of the engine itself is past the rear axle...
Tatras faster around corners than they could handle
Car handling
Automobile handling and vehicle handling are descriptions of the way wheeled vehicles perform transverse to their direction of motion, particularly during cornering and swerving. It also includes their stability when moving at rest. Handling and braking are the major components of a vehicle's...
. At the time, as an anecdote
Anecdote
An anecdote is a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person. It may be as brief as the setting and provocation of a bon mot. An anecdote is always presented as based on a real incident involving actual persons, whether famous or not, usually in an identifiable place...
, Tatra became known as the 'Czech Secret Weapon' for the scores of officers who died behind the wheel; at one point official orders were issued forbidding German officers from driving Tatras.
Postwar management
The factory was nationalised in 1945 almost three years before the Communist PartyCommunist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
came to power and renamed to Tatra Národní Podnik. Although production of prewar models continued, a new model, the Tatra T600 Tatraplan
Tatraplan
The Tatra T600, named the Tatraplan, was a large car from the Czech manufacturer Tatra.After World War II, Tatra continued its pre-war business of building passenger cars in addition to commercial vehicles. The factory was nationalised in 1946 two years before the Communist takeover...
was designed—the name celebrating the new Communist planned economy
Planned economy
A planned economy is an economic system in which decisions regarding production and investment are embodied in a plan formulated by a central authority, usually by a government agency...
and the aeroplane inspiration (Colloq. Czech: eroplan). It went into production in 1948. In 1951, the state planning department decided that the Tatraplan should henceforth be built at the Skoda
Škoda Auto
Škoda Auto , more commonly known as Škoda, is an automobile manufacturer based in the Czech Republic. Škoda became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group in 2000, positioned as the entry brand to the group...
plant in Mladá Boleslav
Mladá Boleslav
Mladá Boleslav is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, on the left bank of the Jizera river about 50 km northeast of Prague.Founded in the second half of the 10th century by King Boleslav II as a royal castle...
, leaving Tatra free to concentrate on trucks, buses and railway equipment.
The Tatra T603
A mere three years later, amid much dissatisfaction among officialdom about the poor-quality official cars imported from RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Tatra was again given permission to produce a luxury car, the Tatra T603
Tatra T603
The Tatra 603 is a large rear-engined luxury car made by the Czechoslovak company Tatra. It was a continuation of the series of Tatra streamlined sedans started by the Tatra 77...
. A fair successor to the prewar cars, it was also driven by a rear-mounted, air-cooled V8 and had the company's trademark aerodynamic styling. Uniquely, the Tatra T603 featured three headlights, and the first prototypes had a central rear stabilising fin, though this was lost for production. Fitted with almost American-style
Passenger vehicles in the United States
Note: this article adopts the U.S. Department of Transportation's definition of a passenger vehicle, to mean a car or truck, used for passengers, excluding buses and trains....
thick chrome
Chrome plating
Chrome plating, often referred to simply as chrome, is a technique of electroplating a thin layer of chromium onto a metal object. The chromed layer can be decorative, provide corrosion resistance, ease cleaning procedures, or increase surface hardness.-Process:A component to be chrome plated will...
bumpers with bullets (a.k.a. Dagmar bumpers
Dagmar bumpers
Dagmar bumpers, also known simply as Dagmars , is a slang term for the artillery shell shaped styling elements found on the front bumper/grille assemblies on several makes of cars produced in the 1950s, an era recognized for its flamboyant designs and prominent use of chrome details.The term was...
), the Tatra T603 was an amazing looking car for 1955. Performance was spritely for a large, six-seater car, and the ride was smooth. Almost entirely hand-built, Tatras were not for everybody; normal citizens could not buy them. They were reserved for Party elites, communist officials, factory presidents and other notables, as well as being exported to most other communist nations as official cars. Even Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
had a white Tatra T603, custom-fitted with air conditioning.
Tatra T603s were built until 1975, a twenty-year era as one of Communism's finest cars. Numerous improvements were made over this time, but not all the new cars built in this period were actually new. When a new Tatra replaced an old, the old vehicle was returned to the factory. There, it was upgraded to modern condition, refinished, dubbed new and sent out again as a putatively new vehicle to replace another older Tatra. This makes it hard to trace the history of surviving vehicles.
1970s makeover—the Tatra T613
Tatra T613
The Tatra 613 was a large luxury car with rear mounted air-cooled engine manufactured by Czech manufacturer Tatra from the 1970s to the 1990s, as a replacement for the Tatra 603 series....
. It was styled by the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
styling house of Vignale
Vignale
Vignale was an Italian automobile coachbuilder company. Carrozzeria Alfredo Vignale was established in 1948 at Via Cigliano, Turin by Alfredo Vignale in Grugliasco, near Turin ....
and was a more modern, less rounded shape. It was not until 1973 that any were actually produced by the factory, and volume production did not begin until the following year. Although the layout remained the same, the body was all new, as was the engine, being equipped with four overhead camshafts, a higher capacity (3495 cc) and an output close to 165 bhp. In addition, it had been moved somewhat forward for improved balance. These cars were built in five series and several modifications until 1996. It is a tribute to Vignale's styling that they did not look dated until rather late in that time period. Over 11,000 cars were built, slowing to a trickle of but a few dozen a year towards the end as Tatras began to seem more and more outdated.
1990s Tatra T700
The T700 was offered as both a saloon and coupé with either a 3.5 or 4.4 litre 90° air-cooled V8 petrol engine.
The model was not successful nor produced in large numbers, and production halted in 1999; the Tatra T700 was the last passenger car made by Tatra, which then concentrated on commercial vehicles.
Tatra in the west
Unlike most Soviet Bloc manufacturers, Tatra enjoyed modest sales success in Western Europe, where its truck line had a reputation for simplicity and durability. No effort was made to distribute Tatra's unusual automobiles in the West, though a small number did find their way to collectors in Western Europe, and even to the United States. The fall of the Soviet Union did not help Tatra's fortunes, as the company made no inroads in Western Europe's already crowded automobile market. Worse, the introduction of competitors, such as Mercedes-BenzMercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
and Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
into the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, further eroded Tatra's sales. Production of the T700 ended in 1999.
Tatra MTX V8
MTX (automobile)
MTX is an automobile that has been made in Czechoslovakia and now in the Czech Republic by MTX R5 sp.o.o of Prague since 1969. MTX is short for Metalex. Originally, it was a repair shop for Škoda racers....
the fastest czech car of all time started from Kopřivnice Tatra in 1991. Under the hood lies V8 169 kW, 6000 rpm. from 0 to 100 will be given as 5.6 seconds. Maximum speed reaches is 265 km / h. It is the work of legendary Czech designer Václav Král. On the world is only 5 pieces.
Among western collectors Tatra automobiles remain largely unknown. The largest display of Tatra vehicles in the United States is at the Lane Motor Museum
Lane Motor Museum
Lane Motor Museum is located in Nashville, Tennessee and features a unique collection of mostly European automobiles.-History:The Lane Motor museum was established in 2003 by Jeff and Susan Lane and began with Jeff Lane's personal collection of 70 vehicles. The collection is housed in the former...
in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. The museum's eclectic automobile collection contains 12 Tatra models, including a T-613 ambulance. When talk show host and car collector Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
visited the museum, the founder picked him up in a 1947 Tatra T-87, prompting Leno to purchase one himself. Leno soon become an advocate for the brand. In the United States the few Tatra clubs are closely associated with Citroen
Citroën
Citroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that...
clubs, as many Tatra collectors also collect Citroen DS
Citroën DS
The Citroën DS is an executive car produced by the French manufacturer Citroën between 1955 and 1975. Styled by Italian sculptor and industrial designer Flaminio Bertoni and the French aeronautical engineer André Lefèbvre, the DS was known for its aerodynamic futuristic body design and innovative...
series cars.
1898–1914 Beginning
The first truckNW First Truck
Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft First Truck is a veteran truck manufactured by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft A.G. in 1898. The unique feature of the engines setup was that the two engines could be operated sequentially depending on the load requirements...
manufactured at Kopřivnice in 1898 was a flatbed with 2 liquid-cooled side-by-side-mounted two-cylinder Benz engines each at 2.7 L capacity with total power output of 8.8 kW (12 hp) placed after the rear axle and cargo capacity of 2.5 ton. The unique feature of the engines setup was that the engines could be operated sequentially depending on the load requirements. No 1 engine was started via a cranking handle and had a flywheel attached and No 2 engine without the flywheel was connected via a gear clutch and started by the first engine already running.
The second truck manufactured was once again a flatbed R type of 2.5 ton cargo capacity build in 1909. Powered by liquid-cooled petrol four-cylinder engine of 4.1 L capacity and power output of 18.4 kW (25 hp) with the engine placed above front axle which is the conventional design to this day. The vehicle featured solid rubber tyres and semi-elliptic leaf spring suspension.
In 1910 Tatra manufactured its first bus the Omnibus type SO with total production of 5 units.
1914–1922 Serial Production
The first true serial truck production at Tatra was instigated by the beginning of World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. In the year 1914 there were only 2 trucks made, type T 14/40 HP, however by the 1915 end the production jumped to the total of 105 TL-2 units and the following year 1916 the numbers rose to total of 196 TL-2 and 30 TL-4 truthe time peaked in 1917 with 19 TL-2 and 303 TL-4 models, after that production declined and the similar amount of vehicles of one type manufactured in a year was not achieved or surpassed until 1936 with the T 27 model.
Technically models TL-2 and TL-4 were almost identically designed, in fact TL-4 evolved from TL-2 where both had liquid-cooled OHC engines of max power output of 25.7 kW. The TL-2 had a GVM
Gross vehicle mass
A Gross Vehicle Mass is the maximum allowable total mass of a fully loaded motor vehicle, consisting of the tare mass plus the load...
2100 kg (4,630 lb) and 4000 kg (8,818 lb) GCM
Gross combination mass
A Gross Combination Mass is the maximum allowable total mass of a fully loaded motor vehicle together with all of its trailers...
, TL-4 had 2700 kg (5,952 lb) GVM and 6700 kg (14,771 lb) GCM respectively. Both types remained in production in small series until 1927. The TL-4 is considered the first truck to come out of NW (Nesselsdorfer Wagen-bau) to carry the name Tatra in 1919.
1923–1938 Tatra Concept
After the introduction of Tatra 11 and Tatra 12 cars with their distinctive backbone tube design and swing axles, Tatra introduced its first truck on the same basis, the light utility Tatra 13 powered by 2-cylinder air-cooled petrol engine with power output 8.8 kW (12 hp) and 1000 kg (2,205 lb) cargo capacity. Further models followed and in 1926 T23 and T24 were introduced nicknamed "bulldogs" which could be considered Tatra's precursors to COE designed trucks. Improved version T13 introduced as T26 with more powerful 4-cylinder flat air-cooled engine and in six-wheeler chassis created capable offroad light utility truck which later evolved in to T72 model which was heavily used by CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
n army at the time and was also manufactured under license by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
company Lorraine-Dietrich. In 1933 Tatra build limited series of T25 heavy artillery hauler with 4 and 6-cylinder petrol engines. The most popular Tatra truck before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was type T27 powered by 4-cylinder petrol or diesel engines and remained in production for nearly 17 years (1930–1947) with total production of 7,620 units, by adding an extra axle to the rear the type T28 was created however, it was not successful and only limited production resulted in a mainly bus chassis. In the period from 1931 to 1938 Tatra also built a small utility truck based on the chassis from T30 named Tatra T43 which remain popular with small business owners. T72 model successfully continued the line to T82
Tatra T82
Tatra T82 was a heavy-duty car model made by Czech manufacturer Tatra between 1935 and 1938. It was mainly used for military cargo and personnel....
built mainly for military in cargo and personnel transport between 1935 and 1938 and further to T92 and T93 built for Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n army from 1938 to 1941 which were identical except T93 had also a driven front axle.
1939–1956 The Legend Born
Following the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia the production at Kopřivnice was annexed by Germans for the supply of trucks needed by WehrmachtWehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
. Apart from the existing line up of T27, T92/92 a new heavy truck T81 commenced the production featuring liquid-cooled 12.5 L V8 diesel engine with power output 118 kW in 6×4 axle configuration. This vehicle evolved in 1942 into legendary T111 which continued its production until 1962 with the total of 33,690 unit made. T111 also featured Tatra's first air-cooled diesel engine a massive V12 originally designed for the armoured Sd Kfz. 234 Puma. In the latter stages of World War II Tatra was instrumental in the development of air-cooled diesel engines for German tanks. In late 1944 General Heinz Guderian
Heinz Guderian
Heinz Wilhelm Guderian was a German general during World War II. He was a pioneer in the development of armored warfare, and was the leading proponent of tanks and mechanization in the Wehrmacht . Germany's panzer forces were raised and organized under his direction as Chief of Mobile Forces...
ordered that production of the Type 38(t) Hetzer
Hetzer
The Jagdpanzer 38 , later known as Hetzer , was a German light tank destroyer of the Second World War based on a modified Czechoslovakian Panzer 38 chassis. The project was inspired by the Romanian "Mareşal" tank destroyer.The name Hetzer was at the time not commonly used for this vehicle...
tank be modified to incorporate a Tatra Type 928 V-8 air-cooled diesel engine, though this order was delayed so production could continue uninterrupted. After the war T111 contributed heavily into rebuilding effort in Central
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
and for its exploits at Far East
Far Eastern Federal District
The Far Eastern Federal District is the largest of the eight federal districts of Russia, while being also the least populated, with a population of 6,291,900 . The Far Eastern Federal District was established in 2000 by then-President Vladimir Putin and is currently being governed by presidential...
of USSR had a memorial built at Magadan
Magadan
Magadan is a port town on the Sea of Okhotsk and gateway to the Kolyma region. It is the administrative center of Magadan Oblast , in the Russian Far East. Founded in 1929 on the site of an earlier settlement from the 1920s, it was granted the status of town in 1939...
Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
.
1957–1982 Eastern Block Finest
The decision to replace the reliable but ageing T111 was taken in 1952 based on central planning economy of socialist government where directive was made to Tatra N.P. that it should concentrate on the manufacture of 7 to 10 ton capacity commercial vehicles and in 1956 first T137 and T138 trucks were exhibited at Czechoslovak machinery expoTrade fair
A trade fair is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products, service, study activities of rivals and examine recent market trends and opportunities...
in Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
.
The production of T111 however continued alongside T138 series until 1962. T138 itself continued in production until 1969 when it was replaced by improved T148 where designers main target was increase in power output, reliability and product improvements.
In 1967 Tatra began production of one of its famous off-road trucks the T813 using its modular construction technology; the model incorporated the latest trends in commercial vehicle design such as cab-over-engine (COE) and wide profile tyres. It featured a new V12 engine and all military versions had a central tyre inflation/deflation system as standard equipment. The T813 was designed to tow loads up to 100 ton GCM
Gross combination mass
A Gross Combination Mass is the maximum allowable total mass of a fully loaded motor vehicle together with all of its trailers...
and it was a familiar sight on the roads in Czechoslovakia hauling large often over-sized loads.
1982–2008 T815 and Beyond
After the 53-rd session of CMEAComecon
The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance , 1949–1991, was an economic organisation under hegemony of Soviet Union comprising the countries of the Eastern Bloc along with a number of communist states elsewhere in the world...
council a directive that Tatra N.P. would be a sole supplier of off road commercial vehicles of <12 ton capacity for Eastern Block countries, led to a modernization of company and its production models. Following extensive testing at different sites, including Siberia, the type T815 was introduced in 1982 and production started in 1983. Comparing to previous models T815 was made of 142 main assembly components as opposed to 219 main assembly components of its predecessor. The engines power output was increased up to 45% and a new COE tilt-able cabin was introduced. Modular engine designed resulted in V8, V10 and V12 engines with or without turbocharger. T815 was upgraded to T815-2 with minor cosmetic changes and improved ergonomics and safety - the biggest change was the engine emissions accordance the "Euro0" limits and to Euro1 limits in 1993 (turbocharged V8 engine only since this time for the full legislation. As alternative was offered also the Deutz
Deutz AG
Deutz AG is an engine manufacturer, based in Cologne, Germany.-History:The company was founded by Nikolaus Otto, inventor of the four-stroke internal combustion engine, in 1864 as N. A...
513 aircooled V8 engine). The next facelift in 1997 brought in the new exterior design cabin TerrNo1 with all new interior with better sound and heat insulation however the cabin design is based on the original so it can actually be retrofitted to all T815 built since 1993. In 2000 the TerrNo1 cabin is face-lifted again and for the first time there is an option to fit liquid-cooled engines.
The TerrNo1 model introduced the "KingFrame" rear axles suspension. Another evolution step T3B engine came with the Euro2 emission limit.
Following further improvements in 2003 T815 gets new Euro3 T3C V8 engine mated to all new 14-speed range+split gearbox as well as option for engines from other suppliers most notably CAT
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
, Cummins
Cummins
Cummins Inc. is a Fortune 500 corporation that designs, manufactures, distributes and services engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission control and electrical power generation systems...
, Detroit Diesel
Detroit Diesel
As a corporation, Daimler Trucks North America has decided to rename the company "DETROIT".Detroit Diesel Corporation is an American-based diesel engine producer headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, USA...
, Deutz
Deutz AG
Deutz AG is an engine manufacturer, based in Cologne, Germany.-History:The company was founded by Nikolaus Otto, inventor of the four-stroke internal combustion engine, in 1864 as N. A...
and MTU
MTU Friedrichshafen
MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH is a manufacturer of commercial internal combustion engines founded by Wilhelm Maybach and his son Karl Maybach in 1909...
with its "monster" 22.5 Litre V12 and up to 610 kW power output!
In September 2006 Tatra introduced its Euro4 compliant turbocharged T3D engine with the SCR
SCR
SCR may refer to:In business:* Solvency Capital Requirement Solvency II.In associations, companies, institutions:* Smyrna Cassaba Railway an Ottoman railway* Senior Common Room of a higher education institution* South Central Railway in India...
exhaust technology and in February 2008 the worlds's first Euro 5 compliant aircooled diesel engine based on T3D engine
The evolution of Tatra T815 would not be complete without mentioning its derivates T816 (T815-6) Armax and Force series which had its origin back in 1993 when Tatra participated in the tender process for heavy duty off road trucks for UAE army and after two years of bidding the company was successful in securing a contract worth $ 180 million.
The resulting model became known as T816 "LIWA" (Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
for "desert"). The latest model for the military customers is T817(T815-7) marketed as high-mobility heavy-duty tactical truck with low profile cabin for C-130 Hercules transportability for NATO member countries armed services.
Tatra also went back to its roots and decided to produce once again a bonneted CBE heavy duty off road truck to continue the successful line started with T111, so in 1999 the T163 Jamal
Tatra T 163
Tatra T 163 Jamal is a heavy truck made by Czech company Tatra. It uses the traditional tatra concept of rigid backbone tube and swinging half-axles giving independent suspension. The vehicles are available primarily in 6x6 and alternatively also 4x4 variants. It is marketed either as road-legal...
was put in to full production after first prototypes were built in 1997 and followed extensive testing including at Siberia, as a heavy duty dump truck, once again based on proven backbone tube chassis construction with the cabin designed by Jiří Španihel The T163
Tatra T 163
Tatra T 163 Jamal is a heavy truck made by Czech company Tatra. It uses the traditional tatra concept of rigid backbone tube and swinging half-axles giving independent suspension. The vehicles are available primarily in 6x6 and alternatively also 4x4 variants. It is marketed either as road-legal...
6×6 is used mainly on construction sites and in quarries.
Tatra was also a successful bidder for the Czech Army
Military of the Czech Republic
The Army of the Czech Republic comprise the land forces, the Czech Air Force and support units. From the late 1940s to 1989, the extensive Czechoslovak Armed Forces formed one of the pillars of the Warsaw Pact military alliance...
replacement of aging Praga V3S (with the Tatra I6 aircooled engine - one half of the T111 V12 one) medium off-road truck with T810
Tatra T 810
Tatra T 810 is a medium truck made by Czech company Tatra. Unlike other Tatra trucks, it doesn't use the traditional Tatra conception of backbone chassis and swinging half-axles, but the customary truck architecture with conventional frame.-History:...
which technically is not a "genuine" Tatra as its origin goes back to when former Czech company ROSS, in partnership with Renault Trucks, obtained a contract to supply the army with medium size off-road trucks, the "ROSS R210 6×6". The company however went bankrupt in 1998 and Tatra bought full rights to the design, then modernized and reintroduced it as T810
Tatra T 810
Tatra T 810 is a medium truck made by Czech company Tatra. Unlike other Tatra trucks, it doesn't use the traditional Tatra conception of backbone chassis and swinging half-axles, but the customary truck architecture with conventional frame.-History:...
while continuing cooperation with Renault. Under the deal Renault supplies the cabins and the engines and Praga
Praga Hostivar
Praga is a manufacturing company based in Prague. In 2006, it was purchased by International Truck Alliance.- History :Praga was founded in 1907 to build motor cars. as a venture between Frantisek Ringhoffer and the First Czech-Moravian Machine Factory. Ringhoffer only stayed for one year and in...
supplied axles and transmissions for the prototypes; however the whole project has been dogged by controversy due to the way Tatra had obtained the contract, its relationship with supplier Praga and the subsequent court case brought on against it by Praga.
The serial T810
Tatra T 810
Tatra T 810 is a medium truck made by Czech company Tatra. Unlike other Tatra trucks, it doesn't use the traditional Tatra conception of backbone chassis and swinging half-axles, but the customary truck architecture with conventional frame.-History:...
vehicles are than finally equipped with the new design Tatra rigid axles with the WABCO
WABCO
WABCO can refer to:*Westinghouse Air Brake Company **WABCO Vehicle Control Systems - a part of the former Westinghouse Air Brake Company...
disc brakes, with the ZF
ZF Friedrichshafen
ZF Friedrichshafen AG, also known as ZF Group, and commonly abbreviated to ZF, is a German public company headquartered in Friedrichshafen, in the south-west German region of Baden-Württemberg....
Ecolite transmission and Steyr
Steyr
Steyr is a town, located in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria. The town is situated at the confluence of the rivers Steyr and Enns. Steyr is Austria's 12th most populated town and simultaneously the 3rd largest town in Upper Austria....
drop box.
Recent years
With orders and production almost at a standstill after the fall of CommunismCommunism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
Tatra decided to stop building the T613 in 1996. An attempt was made to produce an updated version, the Tatra T700
Tatra T700
The Tatra 700 was a large luxury car released in 1996 by the Czech car maker Tatra, essentially a heavily restyled version of the Tatra 613 model it replaced.The T700 was offered as a saloon with either a 3.5 or 4.4 litre 90° air-cooled V8 petrol engine...
; it was largely based on the old car, with updated body panels and detail. Sales were poor, and having in its history produced a total of 90,000 cars, Tatra finally abandoned their manufacture in 1999 to concentrate on trucks.
The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Terex Corporation acquired the majority ownership (71%) of Tatra in late 2003. As of late 2006, however, majority ownership (80.51%) lies in the hands of Tatra Holdings s.r.o., an international consortium comprising Vectra Limited of UK, Sam Eyde of the U.S., KBC Private Equity of Belgium, Meadowhill s.r.o. of Czech Republic and Ronald Adams of the U.S. On 15 December 2006, a contract was signed between Tatra and the Czech Republic for 556 trucks at roughly $ 130 million, or 2.6 billion Czech crown
Czech Crown
Czech Crown/crown can refer to:*the currency of the Czech Republic, see Czech koruna*loosely to:**Lands of the Bohemian Crown**the crown of St. Wenceslas, see Crown of Saint Wenceslas...
s. This contract was signed in lieu of replacement of older military vehicles.
In April 2007 Tatra announced that it had already matched its production in 2006 and produced 1,600 vehicles. In 2007 Tatra plans to produce between 2,300 and 2,500 vehicles. In contrast to previous years, Tatra has increased employment by the hundreds within the past two quarters, has reversed previous errors, and is growing again. Although there have been many struggles in the past decade, the company still remains one of the great prides of Czech industry and has proven to be a valuable asset to international engineering, with its unique assembly and production methods and designs.
In August 2011, DAF Trucks
DAF Trucks
DAF Trucks NV is a Dutch truck manufacturing company and a division of PACCAR. Its headquarters and main plant are in Eindhoven. Cabs and axle assemblies are produced at its Westerlo plant in Belgium...
announced it had built up a 19% stake in Tatra, which will use DAF cabs and PACCAR
PACCAR
PACCAR Inc is the third largest manufacturer of heavy-duty trucks in the world , and has substantial manufacture in light and medium vehicles through its various subsidiaries.-History:...
engines. DAF dealers will sell Tatra off-road trucks.
India
Tatra had a truck-building joint venture in IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
called Tatra Vectra Motors Ltd, formerly called Tatra Trucks India Ltd. It is a joint venture between Tatra and the Vectra Group from England. In 2009, Vectra
Vectra
Vectra may refer to the following:*Opel Vectra *HP Vectra computer series by Hewlett-Packard*Vectra...
announced a new joint venture with Russia's Kamaz
Kamaz
KAMAZ is a Russian truck manufacturer located in Naberezhnye Chelny, Tatarstan, Russian Federation. KAMAZ opened their doors in 1976...
to form Kamaz Vectra Motors Limited to manufacture Kamaz trucks in India., This joint venture replaced the former Tatra Vectra, that Vectra had created with Tatra.
Tatra Vectra Motors Limited (TVML), formerly known as Tatra Trucks India Limited, is a joint venture between Tatra a.s. of Czech Republic (a part of Terex corporation, USA) and the Vectra group, a UK based NRI company, having substantial business interests in UK, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, CIS, Singapore and India. The manufacturing plant is located in Hosur, Tamilnadu, around 35 km from Bangalore. The fully integrated manufacturing facility includes an engine assembly and testing plant, a cabin welding shop, a frame fabrication shop and a test track.
Most Tatra trucks for sale in India are manufactured indigenously in collaboration with Bharat Earth Movers Limited.
In 2002, the company received a 1,070 trucks order from the Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
. Tatra's growing involvement in India's defense industry is often cited as an example of growing relations between Czech Republic and India.
In 2010 the Indian Government ordered 788 vehicles from public sector defence equipment manufacturer BEML. The order comprises supply of 498 8×8 vehicles, 278 6×6 vehicles without winch and 12 6×6 with winch.
Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
tested some Tatras captured from neighbour Arab armed forces. Tzahal's command was apparently quite impressed with their performance, independence of cooling water for long-range raiding operations etc., and felt necessary to include these trucks in their arsenal. As direct purchase from oppositely aligned Czechoslovakia was impossible, the lore has it that Israelis used some well-paid services of Ceaușescu's Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
to purchase sand-coloured, desert-equipped Tatra trucks, causing much fun along the "Romania has a new desert" line in Kopřivnice. Current photos of various Israeli weapon systems, e.g. SPYDER
SPYDER
The SPYDER is an anti-aircraft missile system developed by the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, which is fitted atop a Czech Tatra truck...
slated e.g. for India, show new Tatras as the carrier vehicles, confirming the quality of the Czech(oslovak) hardware.
A number of Tatra trucks entered service in the Israeli Army also after fall of the iron curtain, these however bear mark of "American Truck Company" (ATC), under which Tatras were sold on U.S. market.
Future
In February 2008, Tatra announced the world's first (and so far, only) air-cooled engine meeting the new Euro 5 standards. The press release claims 7.5 times lower emissions of particulatesParticulates
Particulates – also known as particulate matter , suspended particulate matter , fine particles, and soot – are tiny subdivisions of solid matter suspended in a gas or liquid. In contrast, aerosol refers to particles and/or liquid droplets and the gas together. Sources of particulate matter can be...
and 3.5 times lower emission of nitrogen oxides compared to the previous engine. Further, production of air-cooled engines should significantly reduce the production of greenhouse gasses due to the absence of liquid cooling systems. All Tatra vehicles from February 2008 onwards should use the new engine.
A month later, Tatra CEO Ronald Adams told The Prague Post Tatra could return to producing passenger cars, saying 'we would not come back to compete with the large automobile mass producers such as Volkswagen, Škoda, Toyota etc. But we might come back with a replica of the old Tatra cars using a current undercarriage and driveline from one of the major automotive producers.' The company has launched a feasibility study, hoping to produce one thousand replicas of their legendary Tatraplan and 603 cars in 2010.
In July 2008 pictures of a fuel cell concept car designed by Mike Jelinek, the Tatra 903, were shown.
Navistar & Tatra
Tatra and Navistar Defence introduced at EurosatoryEurosatory
Eurosatory is an International Defence & Security industry trade show that is held every two years in Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre, Paris, France. In 2006 it had over 1000 exhibitors and 46,000 visitors. It is organized by COGES in partnership with the French Ministry of Defense. The...
Exposition in Paris, France (Jun 14-18 2010) the results of their strategic alliance since October 2009, the models ATX6 (universal container carrier) and ATX8 (troop carrier) The vehicles appear to be based on Tatra T815-7 (T817) 6×6, 8×8 chassis(see pics here), suspension and cabins while using Navistar engines and other componets. Under the deal Navistar Defence and Tatra A.S. will market the vehicles in North America, which includes sales to the United States military and foreign military sales financed by the United States government. Tatra will source parts and components through Navistar’s global parts and support network for Tatra trucks delivered in markets outside of North America as well as market Navistar-Tatra vehicles around the world in their primary markets.
Tatra aircraft
The Ringhoffer-Tatra Works ltd. produced several aircraft and aero-engines in the 1930s and 1940s before annexation by Germany, and after under the orders of the RLM. Among the aircraft produced were the following:-- Tatra T.001
- Tatra T.101
- Tatra T.201
- Tatra T.301
- Tatra T.126
- Tatra T.131
Passenger cars
-
- Prior the company was renamed to Tatra.
- NW PräsidentPräsidentThe Präsident was an automobile manufactured by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft A.G. in 1897. Together with Lohner car, it was the first actually driveble factory made petrol-engined automobile produced in Austria-Hungary as well as in Central and Eastern Europe The Präsident was an...
- NW A
- NW BNW BThe NW type B is a veteran automobile manufactured by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft A.G. . Initially two cars were made under name Neuer Vierer in year 1901, but later the same car was manufactured under the name type B in 1902 - 1904...
- NW CNW CThe NW type C is a veteran automobile manufactured by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft A.G. in 1902. Only two cars of the design were made, while the production of NW B was still running ....
- NW DNW DThe NW type D is a veteran automobile manufactured by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft A.G. in 1902. Only three cars of the design were made....
- NW ENW EThe NW type E is a veteran automobile manufactured by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft A.G. .The car was able to reach speed of 90 km/h....
- NW ElektromobilNW ElektromobilThe NW Elektromobil is a veteran automobile manufactured by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft A.G. in 1900 and 1901. Only two cars ordered by EAG Prague - Vysočany company were made....
- NW FNW FThe NW type F is a veteran automobile manufactured by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft A.G. in 1902. Only three cars of the design were made.The car was able to reach speed of 60 km/h....
- NW JNW JThe NW type J is a veteran automobile manufactured by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft A.G. . Two basic versions are recognized - innitial J with 30 HP engine, and latter J with 40HP engine. As well as types K and L it had upright four cylinder engines of side valve design...
- NW L
- NW SNW SThe NW type S is a veteran automobile manufactured by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft A.G. .Hans Ledwinka, who left the company in 1902, was hired back in 1905 . Immediately he started working on a new car with modern and progressive design...
- NW T
- NW U
- NW Präsident
- After the name Tatra was adopted
- Tatra 11Tatra 11The Tatra T11 was the first Tatra model to use the unique combination of major components that are still in use on the trucks produced by Tatra to this day.-Origins:...
- Tatra 12Tatra 12Tatra 12 is a model of vintage automobile made by Czech manufacturer Tatra.It was manufactured between 1923 and 1926. It was replaced by the Tatra 57 in 1932....
- Tatra 17Tatra 17Tatra 17 is a vintage luxury automobile produced by the Czech manufacturer Tatra from 1925-1929.-Engine:The vehicle had a liquid-cooled six-cylinder OHC in-line Tatra 17 engine with and 35 hp power. This new block engine by Bevel had an aluminum cylinder head and the first Tatras to have a...
- Tatra 52
- Tatra 54Tatra 54The Tatra 54 was an automobile launched by Tatra in 1931. An economy version of the Tatra 52, it was replaced in 1933 by the Tatra 75.The car was powered by an ohv air-cooled four-cylinder boxer motor of 1465 cc, positioned at the front, and giving a claimed output of . Power was delivered to the...
- Tatra 57Tatra 57Tatra 57 is an automobile launched by Tatra company Tatra 57 is an automobile launched by Tatra company Tatra 57 is an automobile launched by Tatra company (in Czech: Závody Tatra, official name: Závody Tatra akciová společnost or Ringhoffer - Tatra company, also later known as Tatra Kopřivnice, in...
: Tatra 57 A and Tatra 57 B - Tatra 70Tatra 70The Tatra 70 was the successor of the large model T31, which was manufactured at the Tatra factory located at Nesselsdorf in 1931.This luxury vehicle had a water-cooled six-cylinder OHC engine with a capacity of 3406 cc and brakepower of . The engine camshaft was driven by a Bevel,which gave power...
- Tatra 75Tatra 75The Tatra 75 is a middle class automobile introduced in 1933 by Tatra as a replacement for their Type 54 model.The front-mounted ohv air-cooled boxer motor of only 1688 cc had an advertised output of just 30 hp . Attention was paid to weight reduction, with light metal used for the...
- Tatra V570Tatra V570Tatra V570 was a prototype early 1930s car developed by a team led by Hans Ledwinka and Paul Jaray. The aim of the construction team was to develop cheap people's car with an aerodynamic body...
- Tatra T77Tatra T77The Czechoslovakian Tatra 77 is the first serial-produced truly aerodynamically designed automobile. It was developed by Hans Ledwinka and Paul Jaray, the noted Zeppelin aerodynamic engineer. Launched in 1934, the Tatra 77 is a coach-built automobile constructed on a central tube-steel chassis and...
- Tatra T77Tatra T77The Czechoslovakian Tatra 77 is the first serial-produced truly aerodynamically designed automobile. It was developed by Hans Ledwinka and Paul Jaray, the noted Zeppelin aerodynamic engineer. Launched in 1934, the Tatra 77 is a coach-built automobile constructed on a central tube-steel chassis and...
a - Tatra T80Tatra T80Tatra T80 is an automobile from Tatra designed by Hans Ledwinka in 1931. It was the flagship of Tatra at the time, powered by water-cooled 5991 cc V12 engine, including the familiar backbone chassis and swing axle suspension...
- Tatra T87Tatra T87The Tatra 87 is a car built by Czechoslovak manufacturer Tatra. It was praised by German officers in World War II for the superior speed and handling it offered for use on the Autobahn. It was powered by a rear-mounted 2.9 litre air-cooled 90-degree overhead cam V8 engine that produced 85...
- Tatra T97Tatra T97The Type 97 is a mid-class saloon car from Czechoslovak car-maker Tatra. It was produced for a short time in the pre-war period, from 1936 to 1939.- History :...
- Tatra T107
- Tatra T600 TatraplanTatraplanThe Tatra T600, named the Tatraplan, was a large car from the Czech manufacturer Tatra.After World War II, Tatra continued its pre-war business of building passenger cars in addition to commercial vehicles. The factory was nationalised in 1946 two years before the Communist takeover...
- Tatra T603Tatra T603The Tatra 603 is a large rear-engined luxury car made by the Czechoslovak company Tatra. It was a continuation of the series of Tatra streamlined sedans started by the Tatra 77...
- Tatra T613Tatra T613The Tatra 613 was a large luxury car with rear mounted air-cooled engine manufactured by Czech manufacturer Tatra from the 1970s to the 1990s, as a replacement for the Tatra 603 series....
- Tatra T700Tatra T700The Tatra 700 was a large luxury car released in 1996 by the Czech car maker Tatra, essentially a heavily restyled version of the Tatra 613 model it replaced.The T700 was offered as a saloon with either a 3.5 or 4.4 litre 90° air-cooled V8 petrol engine...
- Tatra 11
- Prior the company was renamed to Tatra.
Trucks
- NW First TruckNW First TruckNesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft First Truck is a veteran truck manufactured by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft A.G. in 1898. The unique feature of the engines setup was that the two engines could be operated sequentially depending on the load requirements...
- NW TL-2
- NW TL-4
- Tatra T13Tatra 13Tatra 13 is a vintage truck made by Czech manufacturer Tatra. It was manufactured between 1924 and 1933.The truck was derived from model Tatra 11, with which it shared components and differed from it by strengthened rear axle. Initially the front wheels didn't have brakes...
- Tatra T26Tatra 26The Tatra 26 is a vintage 6x4 automobile produced by the Czech manufacturer Tatra in the late 1920s and early 1930s. It was developed on the basis of the T 12. However, tests showed that the engine from T 12 did not have enough power, and it was replaced by the Tatra 30 engine...
- Tatra T27
- Tatra T43
- Tatra T49Tatra 49Tatra 49 is a model of vintage motor tricycle made by Czech manufacturer Tatra.It was manufactured between 1929 and 1939.It was developed with an aim to offer a commercial car at as low cost as possible. It shared some parts with Tatra 12 and with Tatra 30. However the motor tricycle wasn't a...
- Tatra T72
- Tatra T81
- Tatra T82Tatra T82Tatra T82 was a heavy-duty car model made by Czech manufacturer Tatra between 1935 and 1938. It was mainly used for military cargo and personnel....
- Tatra T85
- Tatra T111Tatra T111The Tatra T111 was a truck produced in Czechoslovakia by the Tatra company.-History:The T111 was developed and manufactured during World War II as a heavy truck for use by the Wehrmacht. Production started in 1942 and continued for twenty years, ending in 1962 when it was replaced by the Tatra T138...
- Tatra T128
- Tatra T141
- Tatra T147
- Tatra T805
- Tatra T138Tatra T138-History:The decision to replace the Tatra T111 was made in 1952 as part of a central state planning economy, where Tatra Kopřivnice was to produce 7-10 ton utility trucks. In 1956 at II. Czechoslovak Machinery Expo in Brno, Tatra exhibited 2 new models, the T137 and T138. Both vehicles had up to...
- OT-64 SKOTOT-64 SKOTThe OT-64 SKOT is an amphibious armored personnel carrier , developed jointly by Poland and Czechoslovakia well into the 1960s.-History:OT-64 was intended to replace the halftrack OT-810, which was nearly...
Tatra engine powered 8×8Eight-wheel driveEight-wheel drive, 8WD, or 8x8 is an eight-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all eight wheels to receive power from the engine simultaneously.Some severe/extreme duty semi tractors may have this configuration...
armored personnel carrier
- OT-64 SKOT
- Tatra T148Tatra T148The Tatra T148 was a truck produced in Czechoslovakia by the Tatra company.-History:In 1969 Tatra decided to modernize the existing T 138 model with a number of improvements and design changes. The new model series was designated T148...
- Tatra T813Tatra T813Tatra T813 was a truck produced in Czechoslovakia by the Tatra company.-History:The first prototype already built in 1960 utilized existing Tatra T138 assemblies in 4x4 full time all wheel drive, which was also another first for Tatra. After the initial trials however the designers decided to...
- RM-70RM-70The RM-70 multiple rocket launcher is a Czechoslovak army version and the heavier variant of the BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher, providing enhanced performance over its parent artillery system that was introduced in 1971 .- Overview :RM-70 was developed in Czechoslovakia as a successor for...
8×8Eight-wheel driveEight-wheel drive, 8WD, or 8x8 is an eight-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all eight wheels to receive power from the engine simultaneously.Some severe/extreme duty semi tractors may have this configuration...
armored multiple rocket launcher based on Tatra T813
- RM-70
- Tatra T815, T815-2 and TerrNo1Tatra T815Tatra T815 is a truck family, produced by Czech company Tatra. It uses the traditional tatra concept of rigid backbone tube and swinging half-axles giving independent suspension. The vehicles are available in 4x4, 6x6, 8x8, 10x8, 10x10, 12x8 and 12x12 variants. There are both air-cooled and...
- TatrapanTatrapanThe TATRAPAN Vehicle is an 6x6 special military vehicle produced by the Slovak defence industry company VYVOJ Martin a.s. Developed for various utilization by Slovak armed forces as well as export purposes.- Design :...
6×6Six-wheel driveSix-wheel drive, 6WD or 6x6 is a drivetrain configuration of six wheels, all of which are driven simultaneously by the vehicle's engine. Unlike four-wheel drive drivetrains, the configuration is largely confined to off-road and military vehicles, particularly heavy-duty ones...
Armored vehicle based on the Tatra 815 chassis.
- Tatrapan
- Tatra T163 JamalTatra T 163Tatra T 163 Jamal is a heavy truck made by Czech company Tatra. It uses the traditional tatra concept of rigid backbone tube and swinging half-axles giving independent suspension. The vehicles are available primarily in 6x6 and alternatively also 4x4 variants. It is marketed either as road-legal...
- Tatra T816Tatra T 816Tatra T816 is a truck family, produced by Czech company Tatra. It uses the traditional tatra concept of rigid backbone tube and swinging half-axles giving independent suspension. The vehicles are available in 4x4, 6x6, 8x8, 10x8, 10x10, 12x8 and 12x12 variants. The truck was developed from the...
- Armax Trucks 4×4Four-wheel driveFour-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4×4 is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...
, 6×6Six-wheel driveSix-wheel drive, 6WD or 6x6 is a drivetrain configuration of six wheels, all of which are driven simultaneously by the vehicle's engine. Unlike four-wheel drive drivetrains, the configuration is largely confined to off-road and military vehicles, particularly heavy-duty ones...
and 8×8 with air-cooled Tatra engines and transmissions by Tatra - Force Special trucks with water-cooled engines and automatic transmissions
- Armax Trucks 4×4
- Tatra T817
- Tatra T810 ANTS
- Tatra Phoenix
Similar automobiles
- Chevrolet CorvairChevrolet Corvair-First generation :The 1960 Corvair 500 and 700 series four-door sedans were conceived as economy cars offering few amenities in order to keep the price competitive, with the 500 selling for under $2,000...
- Citroen DSCitroën DSThe Citroën DS is an executive car produced by the French manufacturer Citroën between 1955 and 1975. Styled by Italian sculptor and industrial designer Flaminio Bertoni and the French aeronautical engineer André Lefèbvre, the DS was known for its aerodynamic futuristic body design and innovative...
- Porsche 356Porsche 356The Porsche 356 was the company's first production automobile. It was a lightweight and nimble handling rear-engine rear-wheel-drive 2 door sports car available in hardtop coupe and open configurations. Design innovations continued during the years of manufacture, contributing to its motorsports...
- Renault DauphineRenault DauphineRenault Dauphine is a rear-engined economy car manufactured by Renault in one body style — a three-box, four-door sedan — as the successor to the Renault 4CV, with over two million examples marketed worldwide during its production from 1956-1967....
- Tucker Torpedo
See also
- List of automobile manufacturers
- Paul JarayPaul JarayPaul Jaray , 11 March 1889 Vienna–22 September 1974 St. Gallen, was an engineer and a pioneer of automotive streamlining.-Life:Jaray, of Hungarian-Jewish descent, was born in Vienna...
- Hans LedwinkaHans LedwinkaHans Ledwinka was an Austrian automobile designer.- Youth :Ledwinka was born was born in Klosterneuburg , near Vienna, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire....
- Julius MackerleJulius MackerleJulius Mackerle was a Czech inventor and automobile engineer.- Life :His father, Julius, owned brickworks firm in Jevíčko and his brother Jaroslav Mackerle was an architect, designer and amateur archeologist...
- Erich ÜbelackerErich ÜbelackerErich Übelacker, 19 October 1899 – 30 June 1977, automobile engineerÜbelacker studied mechanical engineering at Prague Technical University and subsequently worked there as an assistant to Professor Rudolf Dörfl. During 1927-1939 he worked at Tatra Works in Kopřivnice in Moravia under the...
- František KardausFrantišek KardausFrantišek Kardaus was a renown Czech industrial designer and graphic artist.- Life :...
- Flat engineFlat engineA flat engine is an internal combustion engine with multiple pistons that move in a horizontal plane. Typically, the layout has cylinders arranged in two banks on either side of a single crankshaft and is sometimes known as the boxer, or horizontally opposed engine. The concept was patented in 1896...
- V8 engineV8 engineA V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
- Austro-TatraAustro-TatraThe Austro-Tatra was a car made by Austro-Tatra-Werke, Vienna, from 1934 to 1948.After World War I and the subdivision of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the administration, and factory , of the Nesselsdorf, later Tatra, company, were divided by a new frontier and border...
- Škoda AutoŠkoda AutoŠkoda Auto , more commonly known as Škoda, is an automobile manufacturer based in the Czech Republic. Škoda became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group in 2000, positioned as the entry brand to the group...
Further reading
- Tatra Automobiles - Luxury Cars from Koprivnice 1920–1940 by Miroslav Gomola, AGM publisher Czech republic
- List of Literature and Magazines articles related to Tatra
External links
- Tatra Official site
- TATRA GERMANY
- Tatra India
- Tatra and Tatraplan cars site
- Tatra Cars Services
- Tatra Portal - Biggest website about Tatra cars and Trucks
- International Streamlined Tatra Site
- Tatra Aircraft History
- Tatra Museum
- "Tatra’s Long Twilight Is Explored at a Tennessee Museum" at NY Times, July 20, 2011