Suspension is the system of tires, tire air, springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels and allows relative motion between the two. Suspension systems must support both road holding/handling and ride quality, which are at odds with each other. The tuning of suspensions involves finding the right compromise. It is important for the suspension to keep the road wheel in contact with the road surface as much as possible, because all the road or ground forces acting on the vehicle do so through the contact patches of the tires. The suspension also protects the vehicle itself and any cargo or luggage from damage and wear. The design of front and rear suspension of a car may be different.
The Tatra 815 is a truck family, produced by Czech company Tatra. It uses the traditional tatra concept of rigid backbone tube and swinging half-axles giving independent suspension. The vehicles are available in 4x4, 6x6, 8x8, 10x8, 10x10, 12x8 and 12x12 variants. There are both air-cooled and liquid-cooled engines available with power ranging from 230–440 kilowatts (310–590 hp). As a successor to Tatra 813 it was originally designed for extreme off-road conditions, while nowadays there are also variants designated for mixed use.
A swing axle is a simple type of independent suspension designed and patented by Edmund Rumpler in 1903. This was a revolutionary invention in the automotive industry, allowing wheels to react to irregularities of road surfaces independently, and enable the vehicle to maintain a strong road holding. The first automotive application was the Rumpler Tropfenwagen, later followed by the Mercedes 130H/150H/170H, the Standard Superior, the Volkswagen Beetle and its derivatives, and the Chevrolet Corvair, amongst others.
The Meillerwagen was a German World War II trailer used to transport a V-2 rocket from the 'transloading point' of the Technical Troop Area to the launching point, to erect the missile on the Brennstand, and to act as the service gantry for fuelling and launch preparation.
The TatraT813 was a truck produced in Czechoslovakia by the Tatra company. It was produced from 1967 to 1982. The basic representative of this series was a military version of the 8×8 Kolos (Colossus), which was able to pull trailers up to a total weight of 100 tons. Tatra also produced a civilian version in either 6×6 or 4×4. After fifteen years of production, 11,751 vehicles were built in all modifications. Many units were exported to the USSR, East Germany, Romania and India.
The Tatra 148 was a truck produced in Czechoslovakia by the Tatra company.
Steyr was an Austrian automotive brand, established in 1915 as a branch of the Österreichische Waffenfabriks-Gesellschaft (ÖWG) weapon manufacturing company. Renamed Steyr-Werke AG in 1926 and merged with Austro-Daimler and Puch into Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG, it continued manufacturing Steyr automobiles until 1959.
The Tatra T11 is an automobile that was produced from 1923 through 1927. It was the first Tatra model to use the unique combination of major components that are still in use on the trucks produced by Tatra to this day.
The Tatra 111 was a truck produced in Czechoslovakia by the Tatra company.
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 138 was a truck produced in Czechoslovakia by the Tatra company. The immediate successor to the Tatra 111, the model introduced a number of new features while continuing the evolution of Tatra concept. The truck was produced from 1959 to 1971.
The Tatra 30 is an automobile formerly made by the Czech manufacturer Tatra. It was manufactured between 1926 and 1928. From 1928 to 1931 the car was fitted with a newer engine and is therefore called the Tatra 30/52.
The Tatra 12 is a model of vintage automobile made by Czech manufacturer Tatra. It was manufactured between 1926 and 1933. It was replaced by the Tatra 57 in 1932.
The 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.
The Tatra 70 is a Czechoslovak luxury car that was made by Tatra at Kopřivnice from 1931 to 1937. It succeeded the Tatra 31.
The Präsident was an automobile manufactured by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft A.G. in 1897. It was the first actually drivable factory made petrol-engined automobile produced in Austria-Hungary as well as 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 M425 and M426 Tractor trucks (G671) were 5 ton (4,536kg) load rated 4x2 semi-tractors that were used from 1944 on by the US Army. They are famous for the use on the Red Ball Express from Normandy to the front, but were also used in the China Burma India Theater. After the war they were used in Europe, including during the Berlin Crisis, and in the Korean War.
The Tatra 52 is a Czechoslovak mid-size car that was made by Závody Tatra from 1931 to 1939. It was built both at the Tatra factory in Kopřivnice and also under licence at Frankfurt am Main in Germany.
Stoewer Arkona is an executive car manufactured by Stoewer automotive company between 1937 and 1940. It has rear-wheel drive with 2.4-litre four-cylinder overhead valve engine and is available in touring, sedan, convertible, and roadster versions Together with its sister model, Sedina, it was the last civilian car manufactured by the company.
