Tatra is a Czech vehicle manufacturer from Kopřivnice. It is owned by the TATRA TRUCKS a.s. company, and it is the third oldest company in the world producing motor vehicles with an unbroken history. The company was founded in 1850 as Ignatz Schustala & Cie. In 1890 the company became a joint-stock company and was renamed the Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriksgesellschaft. In 1897, the Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriksgesellschaft produced the Präsident, which was the first factory-produced automobile with a petrol engine to be made in Central and Eastern Europe. The First Truck was made a year later, in 1898. In 1918, the company was renamed Kopřivnická vozovka a.s., and in 1919 it changed from the Nesselsdorfer marque to the Tatra badge, named after the nearby Tatra Mountains on the Czechoslovak-Polish border.
The Tatra 77 (T77) is one of the first serial-produced, truly aerodynamically-designed automobiles, produced by Czechoslovakian company Tatra from 1934 to 1938. It was developed by Hans Ledwinka and Paul Jaray, the Zeppelin aerodynamic engineer. Launched in 1934, the Tatra 77 is a coach-built automobile, constructed on a platform chassis with a pressed box-section steel backbone rather than Tatra's trademark tubular chassis, and is powered by a 60 horsepower (45 kW) rear-mounted 2.97-litre air-cooled V8 engine, in later series increased to a 75 horsepower (56 kW) 3.4-litre engine. It possessed advanced engineering features, such as overhead valves, hemispherical combustion chambers, a dry sump, fully independent suspension, rear swing axles and extensive use of lightweight magnesium alloy for the engine, transmission, suspension and body. The average drag coefficient of a 1:5 model of Tatra 77 was recorded as 0.2455. The later model T77a, introduced in 1935, has a top speed of over 150 km/h (93 mph) due to its advanced aerodynamic design which delivers an exceptionally low drag coefficient of 0.212. Sources claim that this is the coefficient of a 1:5 scale model, not of the car itself, so the actual drag coefficient may have been slightly higher.
The National Technical Museum (NTM) in Prague is the largest institution dedicated to preserving information and artifacts related to the history of technology in the Czech Republic. The museum has large exhibits representing approximately 15% of its total collection. The museum also manages substantial archives consisting of approximately 3,500 linear shelf meters of archival material and about 250,000 books. The museum was founded in 1908 and has been in its current location since 1941.
Backbone tube chassis is a type of automobile construction chassis that is similar to the body-on-frame design. Instead of a two-dimensional ladder-type structure, it consists of a strong tubular backbone that connects the front and rear suspension attachment areas. A body is then placed on this structure. It was first used in the English Rover 8hp of 1904 and then the French Simplicia automobile in 1909.
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, only high-ranking party officials and heads of factories were driven in 603s; the car was also exported to a number of other countries.
The Tatra 17 is an automobile produced by the Czech manufacturer Tatra between 1925 and 1929. It was the company's top-end model, and was sold alongside the Tatra 12 economy car and the Tatra 30 executive car.
Nesselsdorf (NW) type T was a luxury car. As the company changed its name the model was renamed to Tatra 20 in 1919. It was successor to the highly successful model NW type S. It was made at the same time as NW type U until 1925, when both of the models were replaced by Tatra 17. It is currently a vintage model, with only three examples known to exist. BMW owns one, while another is owned by a U.S. car collector.
The Double Racer is a race car manufactured by the Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriksgesellschaft (NW), now Tatra, in 1900. It is sometimes also called First Racing, 12 HP, or Race Car. It was commissioned by Baron Theodor von Liebieg. Hans Ledwinka, the man behind the famous rear-engined Tatras, and at the time only 20 years old, helped in the production of the car. The car was designed and built in a five week period in April and May 1900. The Rennzweier was the first car designed specifically for racing to be built in Central Europe.
The Präsident was an automobile manufactured by the Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft, since 1919 Tatra, in 1897. It was the first practical, factory-produced petrol engine automobile built in Central and Eastern Europe. It was constructed by Leopold Sviták and Hans Ledwinka. The automobile was more of a carriage without horses than a car in modern sense. The car is steered via handlebars. The wooden bodywork is placed on an iron frame. It has four seats and a convertible top that would cover only the rear seats. Both axles have suspension of semi-elliptical leaf springs. The wheels were similar to the ones of a horse carriage, but had rubber tyres. The car had a two cylinder spark ignition Benz engine placed by the rear axle.
Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft (NW) First Truck is an antique truck manufactured by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft A.G. in 1899. A unique feature of the engine setup was that the two engines could be operated sequentially depending on the load requirements. After the company finished its first passenger car, named the Präsident, it focused on manufacturing a truck. The First Truck represents the beginning of the long tradition of Tatra commercial vehicles.
The NW Elektromobil is an automobile from the veteran era manufactured by the Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft (NW), now Tatra, from 1900–1901. Only two cars, which were ordered by Emil Kolben's company, Elektrotechnická a. s., based in Vysočany, Prague, were produced. The two Elektromobils had factory numbers 77 and 83.
The Nesselsdorf type B is an automobile from the veteran era manufactured by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft. Initially two cars were made under name Neuer Vierer in year 1901, but later the same car was manufactured under the name type B in 1902 - 1904. In 1904 also another variant of the design was made.
The Nesselsdorf Type C is an automobile from the veteran era manufactured by the Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft in 1902. Only two cars of the design were made, and production of the Type C's predecessor, the NW B, continued past that of the Type C (1901–1904).
The NW type D is a veteran automobile manufactured by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft A.G. in 1902. Only three cars of the design were made.
The NW type F is a veteran automobile manufactured by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft A.G. in 1902. Only three cars of the design were made.
The NW type J is a veteran automobile manufactured by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft A.G.. Two basic versions are recognized - the initial "J (30)" with a 30 HP engine, and the later "J (40)" with a 40 HP engine. As well as types "K" and "L", it had upright four-cylinder engines of side-valve design. The engines in the three types were rather heavy, 4 to 5 liters.
The NW type S was a series of large automobiles manufactured by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft A.G., in Moravia, in what was then Austria-Hungary.
The NW type U is an Edwardian era automobile manufactured by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft A.G.. After the success of Type S, models NW T (four-cylinder) and NW U (six-cylinder) were launched. Both types were again OHC design with hemispherical combustion chambers with the cylinders cast in one piece with the engine block.
The Tatra 601 Monte Carlo was a vehicle based on the Tatra 600 manufactured by Czech company Tatra and built in 1949. The Tatra 601 Monte Carlo was a two-door sports car with possibly only two units built. Although the 601 was named after the Monte Carlo race, it never competed in it, but it did compete in the Alpenfahrt Rally.
The Tatra 92 was an army off-road truck model made by Czech manufacturer Tatra between 1937 and 1941. It was mainly used for transporting military cargo and personnel in Czech and later German armies, but also ambulance and field kitchen lorry versions were made. The significant part of the production batch was exported to Kingdom of Romania.
