Tatra – The Final Fifty (Years)

"Tatra- The Last 50 Years" will be on display at Lane Motor Museum until May 21, 2012

Tatra is a storied marque, but one unfamiliar to most car enthusiasts. Beginning like so many auto manufacturers in the wagon and carriage trade, Tatra rose through the Czechoslovakian industrial landscape – first with railroad cars, then fairly conventional cars, but later with something really special and almost unknown – the aerodynamic sedans they are best known for.

Aerodynamicist Paul Jaray’s ideas on automotive design and aerodynamics took firm hold with Tatra chief engineer Hans Ledwinka. Ledwinka, an Austian-born mechanic, had worked his was across central Europe – with Tatra, then Steyr, and back to Tatra, where he held the chief engineer’s post from 1921-1937. He, along with his son Erich and other talented designers, was responsible for what many consider the Golden Age of Tatra. The T-77, T-77a, T-87, and T-97 are arguably some of the most attractive and the advanced designs of the period anywhere. To see such cars coming from Moravia was truly stunning.

Unfortunately for Tatra, their location eventually led to their downfall, at least as far as a producer of interesting and advanced passenger car manufacture goes. Situated between Poland, Austria, and Slovakia, the area has long been a region of political turmoil. In modern times, Czechoslovakia was annexed by the Nazis in 1938, and existed under difficult conditions for decades, including Communist rule for many years. After the “Velvet Revolution” of 1989, democracy was restored, and the region was peacefully split into the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic in 1993.

How does all this political turmoil affect Tatra? For decades, as a nationalized manufacturer, and under Communist rule, Tatra was not able to advance themselves technically. They were essentially tasked to be the “official” manufacturer to meet Czechoslovakia’s premier automotive needs, but were not allowed to offer their cars abroad, lessening their competitiveness with the rest of Europe’s auto makers. Also, when the “Velvet Revolution” occurred, Tatra was at a critical crossroad – they were wrestling with whether to continue with the old rear-engine, air-cooled designs of the past, or modernize with a fresh design incorporating a modern, front-engine, water-cooled conventional sedan design? The timing of the political upheaval could not have come at a worse time for Tatra. Without firm leadership and the associated development budget, Tatra was forced to shelve Project T-625 and instead do the best they could with updating the aging T-615. The “new” Tatra T-700 was too little, too late, and Tatra passenger car production ended in 1996, with a trickle of cars being sold through 1999.

The exhibit “Tatra- The Last Fifty Years” will be on display until May 21, 2012.