Estonias are
open wheel racing
An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have thei ...
cars manufactured in
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
. The first model, the Estonia 1, was built in 1958 during the
Soviet period
The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...
.
All together there are about 1300 cars. They were branded in western Europe as TARK,
Tallinn
Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...
a Autode Remondi Katsetehas. Later the factory was privatized and renamed "Kavor Motorsport".
Cars
*Estonia 1 (1958) Used a Serpuchov 500 boxer engine with VW gearbox. At its first race, the car immediately broke a new track record. 1 made.
*Estonia 2 (1959) Similar to Estonia 3 (both cars were released simultaneously), but with different suspension. 1 made.
*Estonia 3 (1959) Used an
Irbit
Irbit (russian: Ирби́тStress is given per the ''Dictionary of modern geographical names'', entry o().) is a town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located from Yekaterinburg by train or by car, on the right bank of the Nitsa. Population:
...
500 engine with self-engineered gearbox. 36 series cars made by 1961
*Estonia 4 (1960) Built by Jaan Küünemäe, an ESO 500 speedway engine was used. 1 made.
*Estonia 5 (1961) Used a
Wartburg
The Wartburg () is a castle originally built in the Middle Ages. It is situated on a precipice of to the southwest of and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It was the home of St. Elisabeth of Hungary, the p ...
980cc
2-stroke engine
A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of t ...
. F-junior car. 2 made.
*Estonia 9 (1966) Used a Wartburg 980cc engine, 39 made
*Estonia 10 (1964) A Soviet
F1 car
A Formula One car (also known as an F1 car) is a single-seat, open-cockpit, open-wheel formula racing car with substantial front and rear wings, and an engine positioned behind the driver, intended to be used in competition at Formul ...
. Used a 2500cc engine. 1 made.
*Estonia 11 (1964) Also a Soviet F1 car. 1 made.
*Estonia 12 (1964) Used a
Moskvich 408 engine. 1 made.
*Estonia 13 (1964) Used a Moskvich 408 engine. 1 made.
*Estonia 14 (1966) Soviet F1 car. 1 made.
*Estonia 15 (1967/70) Used
IZh Izh may refer to;
* IZh (Russian: ), a Russian automobile marque of the Izhevsk Machinebuilding Plant
* Izh (river) (Russian: ), Udmurt Republic, Russia
* Ingrian language Ingrian can refer to:
*Of or pertaining to the region of Ingria
*The Ingr ...
Jupiter 350 tuned engines. This car was positioned between kart and formula racing, allowing young drivers to step into a bigger class. Top speed of 160 km/h. 83 made.
*Estonia 15M (1970/74) An evolution of the Estonia 15, featuring improved
aerodynamics
Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dyn ...
and better cooling for the engine. 136 made.
*Estonia 16 (1968) A
Moskvich 412 1500 SOCH engine,
magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...
wheels, and disc brakes on all wheels were used. Integrated CO
2 fire extinguisher system. 6 made.
*Estonia 16M (1970/75) Evolution of the Estonia 16. 100 made.
*Estonia 17 (1974) Soviet F1 car. 1 made.
*Estonia 18 (1972/76) Quite similar to the Estonia 16, but with Lada 1300cc engine. 76 made.
*Estonia 18M (1976/77) Evolution of the Estonia 18. 37 made.
*Estonia 19 (1977/79) Radiators on the sides, wings at front and rear. Lada engine. 165 made.
*Estonia 20 (1980/82) New improved aerodynamics. Designed by Mart Kongo, a racing driver and engineer, and Jüri Iva. 154 made.
![Estonia-21-IMG 5131](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Estonia-21-IMG_5131.jpg)
*Estonia 21 (1981) Designed by racing engineer and driver Raul Sarap, this car was a big breakthrough. It was the first time Estonia used ground effect to help their aerodynamics. A total of 295 cars were built. The Lada 1300/1600cc engine with a TARK 5-speed gearbox was used. Rocker arm suspension was used. Practically every component was built or modified at the TARK factory.
*Estonia 22 (1981) Built by Jüri Iva. The engine was from an
IZh Izh may refer to;
* IZh (Russian: ), a Russian automobile marque of the Izhevsk Machinebuilding Plant
* Izh (river) (Russian: ), Udmurt Republic, Russia
* Ingrian language Ingrian can refer to:
*Of or pertaining to the region of Ingria
*The Ingr ...
Jupiter 350 and the frame came from the Estonia 15. 1 made.
*Estonia 23 (1984) Ground effect test car, pull-rod suspensions.
*Estonia 24 (1985) Raul Sarap's next creation after the Estonia 21. An aluminum
monocoque
Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell".
First used for boats, ...
chassis was used and a Lada 1600 engine with
fuel injection
Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines.
All comp ...
and electronic ignition was used. 4 made.
*Estonia 25 (1989) Designed by Aleksander Sadovsky and Jaanus Heinsar. It was their first production car with an aluminum monocoque. Monocoques (or "bathtubs") were built in a Russian military helicopter factory, and weighted just 39 kg. The car had push-rod suspension. Most cars were sold to
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
. Aerodynamic solutions were tested at a Russian aircraft wind tunnel. Engines were 1600cc Lada engines and 1600–1800cc
VW Golf GTI
The Volkswagen Golf () is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) produced by the German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen since 1974, marketed worldwide across eight generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates ...
units for Scandinavian F4. Some cars were equipped with western racing components. 67 made.
*Estonia 26 (1994) Improved aerodynamics, VW Golf GTI engine. 6 made.
*Estonia 26-9 (2000) The last Estonia car. Improved aerodynamics, Hewland gearbox, AP brakes, dry sump VW engine, improved weight distribution, improved suspension. 1 made.
There was a plan to design and build an Estonia 27 car, but it was never implemented. However, factory CEO Juhan Sein mentored the Tallinn Formula Student team for their first cars, and so heritage and knowledge were passed on to the students. The TTTK/TTÜ F-Student team has been a success, being a top 10 contender early on.
*TARK Aleko JK173 (1989) This car was not produced by TARK at all. TARK facilities were planned to be used for production. The whole project was a scam and ended up as fiasco.
Technical
All of the Estonia race cars were produced under difficult situations. The Soviet
planned economy
A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, part ...
made acquiring engines and other components nearly impossible. Everything had to be "wizarded out" by personal connections in the automotive industry. That being said, the Republic of Estonia was considered more open than the rest of the USSR, so it was more possible to have some information about western racing technology. For example, it was possible to smuggle in racing magazines from Finland. Also, Finnish television broadcasts could be received in northern Estonia, so TARK engineers watched
F1 championships. Because of this, modern F1 solutions made their way into Tallinn.
Early Estonia cars used motorcycle engines or Wartburg 2-stroke motors. Riders (or mechanics) usually prepared the engines themselves. Later, mostly Lada 1300 or 1600 engines were used. 1300cc engines were used in "Formula Vostok" and class rules were quite strict, allowing only the stock camshaft. Later, the 1600cc class was more free, and engine power grew accordingly - up to 165 hp or even more.
From the Estonia 16 onwards, TARK built their own gearboxes. They took the ZAZ-968 gearbox casing, turned it 180° over, and used their in-house developed gear system. All the gears were quickly interchangeable for different ratios.
All major components such as the steering rack, brakes, shock absorbers, ignition systems etc. were built at the TARK factory. They also made their own magnesium wheels.
Professional drivers such as Toomas Napa or Toivo Asmer had special cars from factory, featuring wider wheels and lighter titanium and magnesium parts.
References
External links
TARK{{in lang, et
Open wheel racing cars
Motorsport in Estonia