Tatra 87

The Tatra 87 was a car built by Czechoslovak manufacturer Tatra. It was praised by German officers in World War II for the superior speed and handling it offered for use on the Autobahn. It was powered by a rear-mounted 3.0-litre air-cooled 90-degree overhead cam V8 engine that produced 85 horsepower and could drive the car at nearly 100 mph (160 km/h). It is ranked among the fastest production cars of its time. Competing cars in this class, however, used engines with almost twice the volume, and fuel consumption of 20 liters per 100 km (11.8 mpg). Thanks to aerodynamic shape the Tatra 87 had a consumption of just 12.5 litres per 100 km (18.8 mpg). The Nazi armaments and munitions minister Fritz Todt declared: "This 87 is the Autobahn car ..." After the war between 1950 and 1953 T87s were fitted with more modern 2.5-litre V8 T603 engines.

Design

The Tatra 87 has a unique bodywork. Its streamlined shape was designed by Hans Ledwinka and Erich Übelacker, and was based on the Tatra 77, the first car designed for aerodynamic purposes. The body design was based on proposals submitted by Paul Jaray of Hungarian descent, who designed the famous German Graf Zeppelin dirigibles. A fin in the sloping rear of the Tatra helps to divide the air pressure on both sides of the car, a technique used in later aircraft. Tatra T87 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.

Tatra Mountains

The Tatra Mountains, Tatras or Tatra (Tatry either in Polish (pronounced [ˈtatrɨ]) and in Slovak (pronounced [ˈtatri]) - plurale tantum), are a mountain range that form a natural border between Slovakia and Poland. They are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains. The Tatras should be distinguished from the Low Tatras (Slovak: Nízke Tatry) which are located south of the Tatra Mountains in Slovakia.

The Tatra Mountains occupy an area of 785 square kilometres (303 sq mi), of which about 610 square kilometres (236 sq mi) (77.7%) lie within Slovakia and about 175 square kilometres (68 sq mi) (22.3%) on the territory of Poland. The highest peak, called Gerlach, at 2,655 m (8710 ft) is located north of Poprad. The highest point in Poland, Rysy, at 2,499 m (8200 ft) is located south of Zakopane.

The Tatras' length, measured from the eastern foothills of the Kobyli Wierch (1109 m) to the southwestern foot of Ostry Wierch Kwaczański (1128 m), in a straight line is 57 km (35 mi) (or 53 km (33 mi) according to some), and strictly along the main ridge, 80 km (50 mi). The range is only 19 km (12 mi) wide. The Tatras' main ridge leads from Huciańska Pass (905 m) in the west to Zdziarska Pass (1081 m) to the east.

Tatra 80

Tatra 80 is an automobile from Tatra designed by Hans Ledwinka in 1931. It was Tatra's flagship product at the time, powered by water-cooled 5991 cc V12 engine, including the familiar backbone chassis and swing axle suspension. With engine power of 120 bhp (89 kW) the car has top speed of 140 kilometres per hour (87 mph).

References

Literature

Tatra 17

Tatra 17 is a vintage automobile produced by the Czech manufacturer Tatra from 1925 to 1929. It was the company's top-end model which was sold alongside the economy car Tatra 12 and middle class Tatra 30.

Design

Engine

Originally, the car was fitted with a liquid-cooled six-cylinder OHC in-line Tatra 17 engine with 1,930 cc (118 cu in) and 35 hp (26 kW) power. The block was made from silumin and cylinder heads from aluminium. It was the first Tatra with an ignition battery. The maximum attainable speed of the 1,130 kg (2,491 lb) heavy car was 100 km/h (62 mph). Altogether 205 vehicles were made before 25 September 1926.

Another engine used was from even more up-market Tatra 31. It was also a liquid-cooled six-cylinder in-line OHC, however this time with 2,310 cc (141 cu in) and 39,4 hp (29,4 kW) power. The maximum speed was raised to 110 km/h (68 mph). 250 vehicles were made with this engine.

Tatra 17/31 was for some time manufactured alongside the successor model Tatra 31, of which 300 vehicles were made.