"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.

It was a fun time with the morning DJ’s Greg, Eugene and Tex!  If you missed it, click on either of the text links below to hear the audio files for part I and II of the interview.  Many thanks to our new friends!

Interview on Nashville’s Solid Gospel 104.5- February 4, 2010, Part 1

Interview on Nashville’s Solid Gospel 104.5- February, 4 2010- Part 2

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Jeff Lane with Elliott Bambrough, Host of Treasure Hunters Roadshow

What do you think? Does this sound like a fun show that you would enjoy tuning in for?

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Lane Motor Museum is proud to announce that we are now displaying our newest propeller-driven vehicle; the 1919 Leyat Replica!

Marcel Leyat was a degreed engineer who designed, built, and flew his first airplane in 1909. Leyat developed the belief that propeller-driven vehicles were the wave of the future and, in 1913, built his first propeller-driven car. He tested this 1913 car extensively and in 1919 Leyat began production of the model you see here. There were other people who also shared Leyat’s belief about propeller power, but Leyat spent years trying to develop a viable propeller-driven car. His theory was that the cars would be simpler (no transmission, rear axle, or clutch) and lighter, therefore they would be able to obtain better fuel economy. If you look at the Leyat closely, you can see how exquisite the engineering is. Leyat paid very close attention to aerodynamics and weight.

The body, resembling an airplane, is fully streamlined -as is the front axle- to reduce drag. Instead of using traditional wheels, Leyat built his own with aluminum discs, and integrated the brakes to further reduce the drag. Weight was also reduced to a minimum by using a full monocoque chassis and many aluminum parts to obtain a total vehicle weight of 625 lbs.

Leyat showed his car at the 1921 Paris Auto Show and claims to have received 600 orders. Unfortunately, Leyat was never able to get funding to go into large-scale production, but he continued to build propeller-driven cars until about 1926, with a total production of about 25 cars.

Each year Lane Motor Museum holds a toy drive for Toys for Tots where you can trade a toy for free admission to the museum!

This year, the toy drive will run from Friday, November 27- Monday, December 14.

To qualify for free admission (or a voucher to visit at another date), you must bring:

1. At least one NEW, Unwrapped toy
2. Each toy must have a Value of $5 or more

Lane Motor Museum is located at:
702 Murfreesboro Pike
Nashville, TN 37210

Call 615-742-7445 with any questions.

To learn more about Toys For Tots in Nashville visit:

http://nashville-tn.toysfortots.org/local-coordinator-sites/lco-sites/default.asp