Tatra for sale
Based in the Czech Republic, Tatra is one of the oldest car manufacturers in the world, along with Daimler Mercedes-Benz and Peugeot. It has also been one of the world's most visionary car companies, but over the years remained largely a regional secret, primarily because it was located in a communist bloc nation.In 1850, Ignac Schustala founded Schustala & Company, later renamed Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriksgesellschaft, which made wagons and carriages. It produced central Europe's first motor car, the Prasident, in 1897, which was inspired by a Benz automobile. The Tatra name, taken from a Slovakian mountain range, was first put in use in 1921.
The first Tatra was the T11, released in 1923 and designed by Hans Ledwinka, an engineering genius who many say never enjoyed the recognition he deserved. The T11 was classic looking on the outside compared to other vehicles of the day, but totally innovative inside, primarily for its air-cooled engine design, which would become a Tatra signature. The T11 gained a respectable reputation after placing tops in several European races, earning the nickname "Iron Dachshund" and spurring demand and growth for the company. Other derivatives of the T11 were the T12, T30 and T31 (1926); the T70 (1931); and the T80 (1932).
In the 1930s Tatra began to develop aerodynamic cars along with the rest of the industry. The T V570 (1931) was a compact car that looked very much like the Volkswagen Beetle. It was deemed by Tatra to be too small and was replaced by the much larger T77 (1933), the first mass produced aerodynamic car, designed by Ledwinka and Paul Jaray, the renowned Zeppelin engineer. Tatra did, in fact, influence the design of the VW Beetle, an updated model of the VW KdF, created under the direction of Adolf Hitler in WWII. Hitler was said to have been impressed by the Tatra, which he had ridden in several times during trips to Czechoslovakia.
Primarily because of Hitler’s fondness for the the Tatra, automobile production continued at Tatra following Nazi Germany's invasion and occupation of Czechoslovakia during WWII. The company also began making high-quality trucks and other utilitarian vehicles for the German army. Following the war, the factory was nationalized and taken over by the communist state. A new model Tatra was introduced in 1948 called the T600 Tatraplan, a fully aerodynamic model with a marked dorsal fin designed once again by Ledwinka. In 1955, the Tatra T603 made another splash as a vehicle for party elites, a large six-seater custom made vehicle with thick chrome Dagmar bumpers. Fidel Castro reportedly owned a white Tatra T603.
Tatras morphed into a more modern shape, losing the roundedness, in the 1970s with T613 and the T700. After the fall of communism in the late 1980s, Tatra cars failed to accumulate sales in the West and vehicle production eventually ceased, leaving Tatra primarily as a manufacturer of trucks and other heavy equipment.
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