Tatra (car)

Tatra and Tatraplan are two names for a line of cars produced in Czechia until 1999. The firm Tatra is one of the oldest european car manufacturers with the first model from 1897. One source claims that Tatra is third oldest in the world after Daimler Mercedes-Benz and Peugeot.

Most of the automobiles produced were all considered luxury cars, and technically they were special in the fact that they had rear mounted, air-cooled engines. The larger cars often had rear air-cooled V8 engines.

In the 1930s under engineer Hans Ledwinka[?] and his son Erich, Tatra started building advanced, streamlined cars starting with the large T77, making them pioneers in that aspect as well. Ledwinka discussed design ideas with Ferdinand Porsche, and comparing the designs of Tatra cars and Porsche's 1938 Kdf-Wagen (known as the VW Beetle after the war) it is clear to see how Porsche borrowed Ledwinka's designs, particularly of the relatively small T97 model -- 4-cylinder, rear-mounted, air-cooled engine, beetle-like styling.

In 1946 the company was nationalized by the communist regime. It went on producing some high end and technically advanced models until 1957 when it presentend the astounding Tatra 603.

Car production went on till 1999, but lack of innovation under the communist management have made the Tatra appear as dinosaurs in the modern world. The final car produced was the T700 model made until 1999.

The company still in business and produces wide range of trucks.

External links :

• http://www.team.net/www/ktud/Tatra
• http://www.tatra.cz
• [1] (http://www.tatra.demon.nl/) a fan page about the Tatra history.