The Tatra 97 (T97) is a
Czechoslovak
Czechoslovak may refer to:
*A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93)
**First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38)
**Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39)
**Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60)
**Fourth Czechoslovak Repub ...
mid-size car
Mid-size—also known as intermediate—is a vehicle size class which originated in the United States and is used for cars larger than compact cars and smaller than full-size cars. "Large family car" is a UK term and a part of the D-segment in t ...
built by
Tatra in
Kopřivnice
Kopřivnice (; german: Nesselsdorf) is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 21,000 inhabitants. It is an industrial town, known especially for the vehicle manufacturer Tatra.
Administrative parts
Villages of ...
,
Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The me ...
from 1936 to 1939.
History
The Tatra 97 was designed to complement two
full-size car
Full-size car—also known as large car—is a vehicle size class which originated in the United States and is used for cars larger than mid-size cars, it is the largest size class for cars. In Europe, it is known as E-segment or F-segment.
...
s in the Tatra range: the
Tatra 77
The Czechoslovakian Tatra 77 (T77) is by many considered to be the first serial-produced, truly aerodynamically-designed automobile. It was developed by Hans Ledwinka and Paul Jaray, the Zeppelin aerodynamic engineer. Launched in 1934, the Tatra 77 ...
launched in 1934 and the
Tatra 87
The Tatra 87 (T87) is a car built by Czechoslovak manufacturer Tatra. It was powered by a rear-mounted 2.9-litre air-cooled 90-degree overhead cam V8 engine that produced 85 horsepower and could drive the car at nearly . It is ranked among the f ...
launched in 1936 along with the Type 97. Each of the three models has an
air-cooled
Air-cooled engines rely on the circulation of air directly over heat dissipation fins or hot areas of the engine to cool them in order to keep the engine within operating temperatures. In all combustion engines, a great percentage of the heat ge ...
rear engine and share similar
aerodynamic
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 ...
fastback
A fastback is an automotive styling feature, defined by the rear of the car having a single slope from the roof to the tail. The kammback is a type of fastback style.
Some models, such as the Ford Mustang, have been specifically marketed as ...
four-door sedan bodies. But whereas types 77 and 87 each have a large V8 engine, Type 97 has a
flat-four engine
A flat-four engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-four engine, is a four-cylinder piston engine with two banks of cylinders lying on opposite sides of a common crankshaft. The most common type of flat-four engine is the boxer-four engine, ...
. The Type 97 is distinguished by having two headlights and a one-piece windscreen, whereas the 77 and 87 have three headlights and a three-piece windscreen. The Type 97's flat-four engine displaces 1,759 cc and produces , giving it top speed of .
[
Tatra already had a mid-size car in the same class, the more conventional 1,688 cc Tatra 75 that it had launched in 1933. Tatra continued to produce the Type 75 alongside the futuristic Type 97. In fact production of the Type 75 outlived that of the Type 97 and continued until 1942.
Kopřivnice is in a part of northern Moravia that ]Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
annexed after the Munich Agreement
The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, Germany, the United Kingdom, French Third Republic, France, and Fa ...
in September 1938. Production of the Type 97 was terminated in 1939, possibly to avoid comparison with the KdF-Wagen (see below). Production of the Type 97 was 508 cars in total. In 1946 Tatra resumed car production, and replaced the Type 97 with the larger and more modern Tatra 600
The Tatra 600, named the Tatraplan, was a rear-engined large family car (D-segment in Europe) produced from 1948 to 1952 by the Czech manufacturer Tatra. The first prototype was finished in 1946.
History
After World War II, Tatra continued it ...
"Tatraplan".
Resemblance to Volkswagen KdF-Wagen
In both streamlined design and technical specifications, especially the engine design and position, the Type 97 has a striking resemblance to Volkswagen's KdF-Wagen. However Tatra 97 itself does not appear original, as it has resemblance to sketches by Hungarian engineer Bela Barenyi
Bela may refer to:
Places Asia
*Bela Pratapgarh, a town in Pratapgarh District, Uttar Pradesh, India
*Bela, a small village near Bhandara, Maharashtra, India
*Bela, another name for the biblical city Zoara
* Bela, Dang, in Nepal
* Bela, Janakpur, ...
, conceived in the 1920s and published in 1934. In any case Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
is reported to have encountered and said of Tatra's cars; "This is the car for my roads".[ ]Ferdinand Porsche
Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was an Austrian-German automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first gasoline–electric hybrid vehicle (Lohner–Porsche), the Volksw ...
was accused of using Tatra designs to design the Volkswagen quickly and cheaply. In Porsche's words; "Well, sometimes Ledwinka looked over my shoulder and sometimes I looked over his".
Tatra sued Porsche for damages, and Porsche was willing to settle. But Hitler cancelled this, saying he "would settle the matter".[ Soon after Germany occupied the ]Sudetenland
The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and sk, Sudety) is the historical German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the ...
, Tatra stopped production of the Type 97 and the lawsuit was discontinued. After the Second World War Tatra resumed its lawsuit. In 1965 Volkswagen settled it by paying Tatra in compensation.
Gallery (selected)
File:Tatra_T_97_1938_(15221399414).jpg, Company badge
File:TatraT97-interior.jpg, Tatra 97 interior
File:TatraT97-rear.jpg, Tatra 97 rear quarter view
File:TatraT97-engine.jpg, Air-cooled, rear-mounted flat-four engine
File:TatraT97-front.jpg, Tatra 97 front
File:Tatra 97 Kopřivnice.jpg, Type 97 in the Tatra museum at Kopřivnice
References
Streamlined Tatras
*
Tatra V570
The Tatra V570 was a prototype early 1930s car developed by a team led by Hans Ledwinka and Paul Jaray. The aim of the construction team was to develop a cheap people's car with an aerodynamic body. However the company's management decided that t ...
''1931, 1933''
*
Tatra 77
The Czechoslovakian Tatra 77 (T77) is by many considered to be the first serial-produced, truly aerodynamically-designed automobile. It was developed by Hans Ledwinka and Paul Jaray, the Zeppelin aerodynamic engineer. Launched in 1934, the Tatra 77 ...
''1933–38''
*
Tatra 87
The Tatra 87 (T87) is a car built by Czechoslovak manufacturer Tatra. It was powered by a rear-mounted 2.9-litre air-cooled 90-degree overhead cam V8 engine that produced 85 horsepower and could drive the car at nearly . It is ranked among the f ...
''1936–50''
*Tatra 97
''1936–39''
*
Tatra 600 Tatraplan
The Tatra 600, named the Tatraplan, was a rear-engined large family car (D-segment in Europe) produced from 1948 to 1952 by the Czech manufacturer Tatra. The first prototype was finished in 1946.
History
After World War II, Tatra continued its ...
''1946–52''
*
Tatra 603
The Tatra 603 is a large rear-engined luxury car which was produced by the Czechoslovak company Tatra from 1956 to 1975. It was a continuation of the series of Tatra streamlined sedans which began with the Tatra 77. In Socialist Czechoslovak ...
''1956–75''
Bibliography
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External links
{{Tatra models
Cars powered by boxer engines
Cars introduced in 1936
Cars of the Czech Republic
Rear-engined vehicles
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
97