The Tatra 87 (T87) is a car built by

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 ...

manufacturer Tatra. It was powered by a rear-mounted 2.9-litre air-cooled 90-degree

overhead cam An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...

V8 engine that produced 85

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

and could drive the car at nearly . It is ranked among the fastest production cars of its time. Competing cars in this class, however, used engines with almost twice the displacement, and with fuel consumption of 20 liters per 100 km (11.8 mpg). Thanks to its aerodynamic shape, the Tatra 87 had a consumption of just 12.5 litres per 100 km (18.8 mpg). After the war between 1950 and 1953, T87s were fitted with more-modern 2.5-litre V8 T603 engines. The 87 was used by

Hanzelka and Zikmund Jiří Hanzelka (24 December 1920 – 15 February 2003) and Miroslav Zikmund (14 February 1919 – 1 December 2021), known collectively as Hanzelka and Zikmund, were a duo of Czech adventurers known for their travels in Africa, Asia, Latin Americ ...

for their travel through Africa and Latin America from 1947 to 1950.

Design

The Tatra 87 has unique bodywork. Its streamlined shape was designed by

Hans Ledwinka Hans Ledwinka (14 February 1878 – 2 March 1967) was an Austrian automobile designer. Youth Ledwinka was born in Klosterneuburg (Lower Austria), near Vienna, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He started his career as a mechanic, an ...

and

Erich Übelacker Erich Übelacker (19 October 1899 – 30 June 1977) was a German automobile engineer. Übelacker studied mechanical engineering at Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague Technical University and subsequently worked there as an assistant ...

and was based on 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 ...

, the first car designed with aerodynamics in mind. The body design was based on proposals submitted by

Paul Jaray Paul Jaray ( Hungarian: ''Járay Pál''; 11 March 1889 – 22 September 1974) was an engineer, designer, and a pioneer of automotive streamlining. Life Jaray, of Hungarian-Jewish descent, was born in Vienna. Jaray studied at ''Maschinenbauschul ...

of Hungarian descent, who designed the famous German Graf Zeppelin

dirigibles An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early d ...

. A fin in the sloping rear of the Tatra helps to divide the air pressure on both sides of the car, a technique used later in aircraft. Tatra 87 had a drag coefficient of 0.36 as tested in the VW tunnel in 1979 as well as reading of 0.244 for a 1:5 model tested in 1941. 1947 Tatra T87 dashboard

Small sets of windows in the dividers between the passenger, luggage space and engine compartments, plus louvres providing air for the air-cooled engine, allowed limited rear visibility. Its entire rear segment could be opened, to service the engine. The front doors are rear-hinged coach doors, sometimes termed "

suicide doors A suicide door is an automobile door hinged at its rear rather than the front. Such doors were originally used on horse-drawn carriages, but are rarely found on modern vehicles, primarily because they are perceived as being less safe than a fro ...

", and the rear doors are front-hinged. Tatra 87 rear (Foto Hilarmont)

Many design elements of the Tatra 87, V570 and the later T97, were copied by later car manufacturers.

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 Volkswag ...

was heavily influenced by the Tatra 87 and T97 and the flat-four-cylinder engine in his design of the

Volkswagen Beetle The Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in German (meaning "beetle"), in parts of the English-speaking world the Bug, and known by many other nicknames in other languages—is a two-door, rear-engine economy car, ...

, and was subsequently sued by Tatra. The price new (in the 1940s) was 25,000

SFr SFR (; ''Société française du radiotéléphone'', ) is a French telecommunications company. As of December 2015, it had 21.9 million customers in Metropolitan France for mobile services, and provided 6.35 million households with high-spee ...

. Its value today is around $125,000. A 1941 Tatra 87, owned and restored by Paul Greenstein and

Dydia DeLyser Dydia DeLyser is a cultural-historical geographer, writer and researcher based in Los Angeles, California. An expert on the cultural impact of Helen Hunt Jackson's novel ''Ramona'' and the history of neon signage, DeLyser is an associate professor ...

of Los Angeles California, won a

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

reader's poll of collector's cars in 2010, beating strong competition from 651 cars.

Notable owners

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 th ...

''1931, 1933'' *

''1933-1938'' *Tatra 87 ''1936-1950'' *

Tatra 97 The Tatra 97 (T97) is a Czechoslovak mid-size car built by Tatra in Kopřivnice, Moravia from 1936 to 1939. History The Tatra 97 was designed to complement two full-size cars in the Tatra range: the Tatra 77 launched in 1934 and the Tatra 87 lau ...

''1936-1939'' *

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 ...

''1946-1952'' *

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 Czechoslovakia, ...

''1956-1975''

- the Tatra constructer (when pensioned he got one as a gift from Felix Wankel. This car is now on display in the

Deutsches Museum The Deutsches Museum (''German Museum'', officially (English: ''German Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology'')) in Munich, Germany, is the world's largest museum of science and technology, with about 28,000 exhibited objects from ...

in Munich) *

Eliška Junková Eliška Junková-Khásová (born Alžběta Pospíšilová; 16 November 1900 – 5 January 1994), also known as Elisabeth Junek, was a Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak automobile racer. She is regarded as one of the most significant drivers in Grand Pr ...

- one of the greatest female drivers in

Grand Prix motor racing Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition, has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as early as 1894. It quickly evolved from simple road races from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car an ...

history *

Ernst Heinkel Dr. Ernst Heinkel (24 January 1888 – 30 January 1958) was a German aircraft designer, manufacturer, ''Wehrwirtschaftsführer'' in Nazi Germany, and member of the Nazi party. His company Heinkel Flugzeugwerke produced the Heinkel He 178, th ...

- German Nazi aircraft designer, whose company produced the world's first turbojet aircraft and jet plane, as well as the first rocket aircraft *

Felix Wankel Felix Heinrich Wankel (; 13 August 1902 – 9 October 1988) was a German mechanical engineer and inventor after whom the Wankel engine was named. Early life Wankel was born in 1902 in Lahr in what was then the Grand Duchy of Baden in the Upper R ...

- German engineer, inventor of the

Wankel engine The Wankel engine (, ) is a type of internal combustion engine using an Eccentric (mechanism), eccentric rotary combustion engine, rotary design to convert pressure into rotating motion. It was invented by German engineer Felix Wankel, and desi ...

Emil František Burian Emil František Burian (11 June 1904 – 9 August 1959) was a Czech poet, journalist, singer, actor, musician, composer, dramatic adviser, playwright and director. He was also active in Communist Party of Czechoslovakia politics. Early life an ...

- Czech poet, journalist, singer, actor, musician, composer, dramatic adviser, playwright and director *

Vítězslav Nezval Vítězslav Nezval (; 26 May 1900 – 6 April 1958) was a Czechs, Czech poet, writer and translator. He was one of the most prolific avant-garde Czech writers in the first half of the 20th century and a co-founder of the Surrealism, Surrealist ...

- one of the most prolific avant-garde Czech writers in the first half of the twentieth century and a co-founder of the

Surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

movement in Czechoslovakia *

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...

- German General and Field Marshal of World War II (used also Tatra's Czech competitor,

Škoda Superb The Škoda Superb is a large family car that has been produced by the Czech car manufacturer Škoda Auto since 2001. The first generation of the modern Superb, produced from 2001 to 2008, was based on the VW B5 PL45+ platform. The second gener ...

, in the field) *

Andrey Yeryomenko , birth_date = , death_date = , image = Маршал Советского Союза Герой Советского Союза Андрей Иванович Ерёменко (cropped).jpg , image_size = , caption = Y ...

- Soviet General and Field Marshal of World War II (received the first T87 manufactured after WW2 as a present, this car is now on display in the Tatra museum) *

John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...

American writer American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry ...

Farouk I of Egypt Farouk I (; ar, فاروق الأول ''Fārūq al-Awwal''; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 193 ...

- the tenth ruler from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty and the penultimate

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

Josef Beran Josef Beran (29 December 1888 – 17 May 1969) was a Czech Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Archbishop of Prague from 1946 until his death and was elevated into the cardinalate in 1965. Adam Beran was imprisoned in the Dachau concentr ...

- Czech

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and

Archbishop of Prague The following is a list of bishops and archbishops of Prague. The bishopric of Prague was established in 973, and elevated to an archbishopric on 30 April 1344. The current Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Prague is the continual successor of the bis ...

Edvard Beneš Edvard Beneš (; 28 May 1884 – 3 September 1948) was a Czech politician and statesman who served as the president of Czechoslovakia from 1935 to 1938, and again from 1945 to 1948. He also led the Czechoslovak government-in-exile 1939 to 1945 ...

- a leader of the

independence movement, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the second President of Czechoslovakia *

Antonín Zápotocký Antonín Zápotocký (19 December 1884 – 13 November 1957) was a Czech communist politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Czechoslovakia from 1948 to 1953 and the president of Czechoslovakia from 1953 to 1957. Biography He ...

Klement Gottwald Klement Gottwald (; 23 November 1896 – 14 March 1953) was a Czech communist politician, who was the leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1929 until his death in 1953–titled as general secretary until 1945 and as chairman from ...

- communist leaders, presidents of Czechoslovakia after the 1948 coup d'état *

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...

- an American

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...

and

television host A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garne ...

Norman Foster Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

- a British architect
The Tatra 87 was praised by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

officers in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

for the superior speed and handling it offered for use on the

Autobahn The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. ...

. The

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

armaments and munitions minister

Fritz Todt Fritz Todt (; 4 September 1891 – 8 February 1942) was a German construction engineer and senior Nazi who rose from the position of Inspector General for German Roadways, in which he directed the construction of the German autobahns (''Reichsa ...

declared: "This 87 is the Autobahn car ..." It was known, however, as the 'Czech secret weapon' because it killed so many

officers during

that the German Army eventually forbade its officers from driving the Tatra. However, this alleged story has never been proven and is considered apocryphal, the order forbidding the T87 use being imposed only after several non-fatal accidents.Ivan Margolius & John G. Henry, ''Tatra - The Legacy of Hans Ledwinka'', Veloce Publishing, Dorchester 2015, page 133

Literature

Margolius, Ivan & Henry, John G., ''Tatra - The Legacy of Hans Ledwinka'', Veloce Publishing, Dorchester 2015, &

References

External links

Tatra 87 in 1947 Popular Science MagazineJay Leno's T87
{{Tatra models 87 Cars powered by rear-mounted 8-cylinder engines 1940s cars 1950s cars Cars introduced in 1936 Automobiles with backbone chassis