Tatra 87
| Tatra 87 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Tatra |
| Production |
|
| Assembly | Kopřivnice,Moravia,Czechoslovakia |
| Designer | |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Luxury car,5-seaterSedan |
| Body style | limousine(finned fastback) |
| Layout | RR layout |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 2969 cc (3.0L)Tatra 87V8[2] |
| Transmission | 4-speed manual[1](3 and 4 synchronized) |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,850 mm (112.2 in)[3] |
| Length | 4,740 mm (186.6 in)[4] |
| Width | 1,670 mm (65.7 in)[4] |
| Height | 1,500 mm (59.1 in)[4] |
| Curb weight | 1,370 kg (3,020 lb)[3] |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Tatra 77a |
| Successor | Tatra 603 |
TheTatra 87(T87) is a car built byCzechoslovakmanufacturerTatrafrom 1936 to 1950. It was powered by a rear-mounted 2.9-litre air-cooled 90-degreeoverhead camV8engine that produced 85horsepowerand could drive the car at nearly 100 mph (160 km/h). It is ranked among the fastest production cars of its time. Competing cars in this class, however, used engines with almost twice the displacement, and with fuel consumption of 20 liters per 100 km (11.8 mpg). Thanks to its aerodynamic shape, the Tatra 87 had a consumption of just 12.5 litres per 100 km (18.8 mpg). After the war between 1950 and 1953, T87s were fitted with more-modern 2.5-litre V8 T603 engines.[5]
The 87 was used byHanzelka and Zikmundfor their travel through Africa and Latin America from 1947 to 1950.[6]
Design
[edit]The Tatra 87 has unique bodywork. Its streamlined shape was designed byHans LedwinkaandErich Übelackerand was based on theTatra 77,the first car designed with aerodynamics in mind.[1]The body design was based on proposals submitted byPaul Jarayof Hungarian descent, who designed the famous GermanGraf Zeppelindirigibles.A fin in the sloping rear of the Tatra helps to divide the air pressure on both sides of the car, a technique used later in aircraft. Tatra 87 had a drag coefficient of 0.36 as tested in the VW tunnel in 1979 as well as reading of 0.244 for a 1:5 model tested in 1941.[7]
Small sets of windows in the dividers between the passenger, luggage space and engine compartments, plus louvres providing air for the air-cooled engine, allowed limited rear visibility. Its entire rear segment could be opened, to service the engine. The front doors are rear-hinged coach doors, sometimes termed "suicide doors",and the rear doors are front-hinged.
Many design elements of the Tatra 87,V570and the laterT97,were copied by later car manufacturers.Ferdinand Porschewas heavily influenced by the Tatra 87 andT97and the flat-four-cylinder engine in his design of theVolkswagen Beetle,and was subsequently sued by Tatra.
The price new (in the 1940s) was 25,000SFr.[2]Its value today is around $125,000.[8]A 1941 Tatra 87, owned and restored by Paul Greenstein andDydia DeLyserof Los Angeles California, won aNew York Timesreader's poll of collector's cars in 2010, beating strong competition from 651 cars.[9]
Notable owners
[edit]
Streamlined Tatras
- Tatra V5701931, 1933
- Tatra 771933–1938
- Tatra 871936–1950
- Tatra 971936–1939
- Tatra 600 Tatraplan1946–1952
- Tatra 6031956–1975
- Hans Ledwinka- the Tatra constructer (when pensioned he got one as a gift from Felix Wankel. This car is now on display in theDeutsches Museumin Munich)
- Eliška Junková- one of the greatest female drivers inGrand Prix motor racinghistory
- Ernst Heinkel- German Nazi aircraft designer, whose company produced the world's first turbojet aircraft and jet plane, as well as the first rocket aircraft
- Felix Wankel- German engineer, inventor of theWankel engine
- Emil František Burian- Czech poet, journalist, singer, actor, musician, composer, dramatic adviser, playwright and director
- Vítězslav Nezval- one of the most prolific avant-garde Czech writers in the first half of the twentieth century and a co-founder of theSurrealistmovement in Czechoslovakia
- Erwin Rommel- German General and Field Marshal of World War II (used also Tatra's Czech competitor,Škoda Superb,in the field)
- Andrey Yeryomenko- Soviet General and Field Marshal of World War II (received the first T87 manufactured after WW2 as a present, this car is now on display in the Tatra museum)
- John Steinbeck-American writer
- Farouk I of Egypt- the tenth ruler from theMuhammad Ali Dynastyand the penultimateKingofEgyptandSudan
- Josef Beran- CzechCardinalof theRoman Catholic ChurchandArchbishop of Prague
- Edvard Beneš- a leader of theCzechoslovakindependence movement, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the secondPresident of Czechoslovakia
- Antonín Zápotocký,Klement Gottwald- communist leaders, presidents of Czechoslovakia after the1948 coup d'état
- Jay Leno- an Americanstand-up comedianandtelevision host
- Norman Foster- a British architect
[4]
The Tatra 87 was praised byGermanofficers inWorld War IIfor the superior speed and handling it offered for use on theAutobahn.TheNaziarmaments and munitions ministerFritz Todtdeclared: "This 87 is the Autobahn car..."[citation needed]It was known, however, as the 'Czech secret weapon' because it killed so manyNaziofficers duringWorld War IIthat the German Army eventually forbade its officers from driving the Tatra.[10]However, this alleged story has never been proven and is considered apocryphal, the order forbidding the T87 use being imposed only after several non-fatal accidents.[11]
Literature
[edit]Margolius, Ivan & Henry, John G.,Tatra - The Legacy of Hans Ledwinka,Veloce Publishing, Dorchester 2015,ISBN978-1-845847-99-9&ISBN978-1-787116-30-6
References
[edit]- ^abc"1948 Tatra 87".conceptcarz.com.Retrieved2008-03-12.
- ^ab"1947 TATRA 87 SALOON".Lane Motor Museum.
- ^ab"Tatra 87".tatraportal.sk.RetrievedNovember 3,2010.
- ^abcd"Tatra 87".aerotatra.czweb.org.RetrievedNovember 3,2010.
- ^Karel Rosenkranz,100 Years of Tatra Passenger Cars,Motormedia 1998
- ^Horáková, Pavla (29 December 2005),"Zikmund and Hanzelka's legendary Tatra 87 car added to cultural heritage list",Radio Praha,retrieved3 June2016
- ^Ralf J. F. Kieselbach,Stromlinienautos in Europa und USA,Kohlhammer Verlag,Stuttgart 1982, page 19
- ^Tori Tellem (2010-07-23)."Collectible Car of the Year: Votes Are In, and the Fin Has Won".New York Times.Retrieved2011-08-22.
- ^"1941 Tatra T 87".The New York Times.2010-07-25.
- ^"Slavné české auto slaví osmdesátiny. Průkopnice aerodynamiky Tatra 77".iDNES.cz.2014-03-31.Retrieved2017-09-06.
- ^Ivan Margolius & John G. Henry,Tatra - The Legacy of Hans Ledwinka,Veloce Publishing, Dorchester 2015, page 133
External links
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