All you need to know about Tatra
Born: 1897 Nationality: Czech
In Nesselsdorfer in Moravia, the local Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau wagon-making company "reverse engineered" a Benz automobile with a view to producing one of their own. Though not part of the process, young engineer Hans Ledwinka took a keen interest.
The first NW car, the President, was a 2.7-litre rear-engined vehicle. After being shown in Vienna, a series production of 10 vehicles was undertaken. Ledwinka re-designed the transmission to fix a problem. In 1900, he also designed the first Nesselsdorfer not dependent on the Benz designs. After designing the Type B, which featured a centrally-mounted 3.2-litre engine, in 1902, Ledwinka left to research steam power for cars.
After that NW began progressed through the alphabet, producing limited numbers of cars designated C, D, E and F. The mid-mounted engines, not very powerful, gave the Nesselsdorfers a bad name. It wasn't until Ledwinka came back and produced his Type S in 1909 and his T in 1914 that NW became established as a maker of good automobiles.
After the first World War the Tatra name first appeared on NW vehicles. The town was renamed Koprivnice and became part of the new Czechoslovakia. Tatra was part of the nearby Carpathian mountains.
Ledwinka, who had left the company again returned in 1921. As technical director he oversaw the emergence of Tatra as a brand respected for advanced technology. His 1.1-litre T11 was the realisation of a dream to build a true "people's car". A prizewinner for its elegance at the 1924 Stuttgart Autoshow, it also proved to be successful in racing, winning its class in the Italian Targa Florio.
Tatra produced a touring car, the T17, in 1926, with fully independent suspension and a choice of 1.9- and 2.3-litre engines. In parallel, Tatra went into the luxury car segment with its T70 and T80. The T80 had a 120bhp, 6-litre V12 engine, but it was very expensive and only 22 were built in its five-year production run.
Smaller "people's cars" like the T54 and the sporty T57 were more successful in the 1930s, with more than 22,000 of the latter being built.
The 1936 T87 was shorter and had improved handling, and was to sell until 1950. A smaller T97 "people's car" was similar to one being produced in Germany by Ferdinand Porsche, and destined to have a short life for that very reason.
From 1939, now in German hands, Tatra made military vehicles. After the war Ledwinka was jailed until 1951 on charges of collaboration. The company was nationalised in a country now under Soviet control.
In 1948, the T600 Tatraplan was improved over its predecessors. It had great ride, superb directional stability and was very quiet. In 1951, Skoda took over the design, and Tatra was turned over to the building of trucks.
In 1958, series car production began again with the T603, followed by the T2-603 and the T605. The cars were very robust and competed well in endurance events.
In 2000 Tatra was taken over by American company SDC and then by Terex. A decision to concentrate on AWD all-terrain trucks today sees them a popular choice for truck trials and events such as the Paris Dakar Rally.
Best Car: The T70 of the mid-1930s was probably best for its time, while the T77 was a true groundbreaker.
Worst Car: The early Nesselsdorfers.
Weirdest Car: For all its technical excellence, the T87 of 1936.