Tatra- The Other Aircooled - up to 1945 pt2

The Tatra 87

Nineteen-thirty-six (1936) brought the company yet another name change. Baron Hans von Ringhoffer, the proprietor of the Tatra works since 1923, decided to combine Tatra with his Prague-Smichov wagon factory to create the Ringhoffer-Tatra concern.

The remarkable T87, which happened to be Hans Ledwinka's favourite Tatra, also bowed in 1936 as a direct response to the critics of the previous model's unexceptional handling abilities. The weight was substantially reduced to 1370 kg (a saving of over 400 kg), accomplished by mounting a smaller 2.97-litre 75 bhp V8 made of alloy and by decreasing the length of the car (the wheelbase went from 3150 to 2850 mm). This greatly helped improve the weight distribution to 38% at front and 62% at rear which had a substantial effect on performance and driving characteristics. The drag coefficient of the T87, due to the shortened but still spacious body, did suffer but, at 0.36, was still exceptional in its day and even now would not be considered unacceptable. The rigid and double-walled body was now of monocoque (uni-body) construction and was especially strong in the passenger compartment, making it safer. And the windshield was flanked by small windows inserted at the A-pillars giving the driver, now positioned in the conventional fashion, exceptional visibility.

The Tatra 87 attained at top speed of about 160 km/h and had good acceleration. Engine noise remained very low in the interior and the ride was pretty smooth even at higher speeds. And fuel economy was very good for a car of this class, at an average 12/13 litres per 100 km.

Even though the Tatra T87 was a rather expensive luxury automobile, the company managed to sell 3056 copies of it until about 1950.

The remarkable T87

The Tatra 97

the Tatra 97 people’s car

Later during the year Erich Ledwinka, one of Hans' sons, replaced Mr. Uberlacker (who left due to a disagreement with management) as chief engineer. He would be responsible for the last pre-war Tatra automobile, the short-lived T97 which came out in about 1936/37. The T97 looked very much like a scaled-down T87 except for the missing central headlight, a flat one-piece windshield, and a rear glass split window instead of the 'Venetian blinds' which must have improved rearward visibility substantially. Otherwise its design and construction was essentially like that of the concurrently produced T87 and propulsion came from a 40 bhp 1.75-litre 4-cylinder unit which allowed a very respectable 130 km/h. And it was quite roomy inside despite the shorter length (and a wheelbase reduced by 250 mm to 2600 mm).

In 1938 Tatra fell under German control due to the annexation of part of Czechoslovakia by the Germans. This meant halting all production and having all patents confiscated.

World War II broke out in 1939 and Tatra was forced to produce military vehicles. The T87, referred to as "the Autobahn car" by the general inspector of Germany's Autobahn network, was also allowed into limited production (for civilian use) along with some other automobiles, Tatras proved very popular with German officers.. Strictly forbidden, however, was the manufacture of the T57 (which had been very popular) and especially the T97 "peoples cars", certainly due to their closeness to Porsche's Volkswagen design. Therefore the life of the T97 with a great potential for success as a family car was terminated after only 508 copies were produced.

The Tatra 97 chassis, looks familiar

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On post-war Tatra