Tatra 600 - 4cylinder

[Styria]

This is a short "acquaintance" drive of a beautifully restored 1932 (? please correct me if I'm wrong) Tatra. As a snotty nosed kit in Austria, used to see the odd one, invariably owned and driven by gypsies. They were always black, (the cars, not the gypsies) and to my kid's eyes, they looked mean and sinister (the cars !) . Besides, even as kids, it was drummed into us not to trust gypsies.

CraigS, of course, has the eight cylinder (604 ?) version, and it created a whole lot of attention when he took it to the Display Day at the Canada Bay Club back in April 2011 (?). I think the car in this video, in its silver livery, is wonderfully attractive. Plus, think about this - aerodynamic styling back in the early '30s. Pretty good and well advanced. Regards Styria

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-DUIFJ8WOk

 

[Styria]

Found another video of a much later model Tatra, possibly with the eight cylinder air cooled engine. Others might disagree, but I think this model is not only most unusual in its styling, but also quite handsome. Not sure, but other than looking like a Tatra, it's almost like a cross between a Frazer Nash and a '50s Panhard Dyna.

Again, as a kid, the Panhards were really luxury cars - futuristically styled, and in some ways beautiful. Regards Styria

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8fNpTSLi80

N.B. As a means of comparison, the Panhard Dyna.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Panhard_Dyna_Z_851cc_manufactured_1958.JPG

N.B. again - I have to correct myself (before anybody buckets me! I mistakenly mentioned the Frazer Nash - different car altogether. The one I am talking about is the Nash Ambassador (well, I got the Nash bit right). I absolutely adore the styling of this car. Have only ever seen one once or maybe twice, and I marvelled at their (its) beauty even then. This is the baby....

http://www.conceptcarz.com/view/photo/318825,16083/1956-Nash-Ambassador_photo.aspx#photo

I just couldn't help myself - this is another video. Nice and short. What beautiful cars. BenzBoy, thank you for your kind words.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEglqDfGYM0

 

[BenzBoy]

Just fabulous Styria. I can't help but marvel at the engineering excellence as well as the sheer beauty of design with these cars.
BTW, Fraser-Nash is the new owner of Bristol Motor Cars. See how the wheel turns? Fraser-Nash tried to buy Bentley in 1930 but R-R snatched it from under their nose in court and Fraser-Nash moved off-shore into other ventures. Now they are back in Britain and hoping to release a new range of Bristols.
Regards,
Brian
PS: I love the fact that TK has such wide ranging interests here.

 

[CraigS]

It is a 1952 Tatra 600 Tatraplan. You can tell by the rounded engine hood, which was produced by Skoda, whereas mine in a 1950 model and was produced by Tatra. The Russians decided that Tatra should build trucks, and Skoda should make the cars, but this lasted only one year.

My other Tatra is a 603, and that is the V8 model.

Coincidentally, I received an email today from the panel beater that he has finally started on the Tatraplan. The mechanical restoration is well under way, and should be ready by the time the body is. Rubber parts have all arrived from CZ, upholstery selected and purchased, and various other things underway.