The story behind the Human Cannonball Tatraplan

Human Cannonball Tatra T600



Oh, it does blow a bit of smoke (Castrol R)…and it doesn’t run air-cleaners…BUT(T) you can use the fan to slice your cheese!



This just in from the owner of the 1.5 1950 Tatra T600 project:
“Hey there,
I wanted to thank you for posting the “ambitious” Tatra project on the site. I bought the lot and with the help of a friend hauled it all back to my spread and started unpacking and sorting.
Quite the “Mother Lode” indeed. I have sold a few extra bits to hungry Tatra owners trying to complete their restorations, and managed to buy another lot of parts from someone else and quickly am finding myself in the used Tatra parts business! As for the main car itself, I recently spent some time assembling it and preparing it for display at the annual VW Classic in Irvine, California this past weekend.
In hopes of blowing some VW minds I decided to give it a slight drop job and bolt on some custom VW wheels on the front. And to fit in with the VW Freak Show theme of the main display this year, I hand painted some faded signwriting on it to make it appear as it was a promotional car for a fictional Human Cannonball performer, “The Amazing Karaznov” of the Moscow Circus Company.
The response was truly epic and the opportunity to show the VW crowd that not every air cooled, rear engine, swing axle trans cars came out of Germany and to tell the story of dear Ferdinand Porsche and his “looking over the shoulder” of Tatra designer Hans Ledwinka to build the Beetle, and the resulting lawsuit that has been well hidden from VW fans.
The drop job was all bolting-unbolting, no permanent modifications were made, and the paint is just paint. The car is far from being a driver, but now that I can stand back and look at it as a whole, not a box of parts, it is much more inspirational. I was tempted by offers to buy at the event, and I battle internally with the desire to restore or modify. With the spare bits I have I feel I could handle some mild mods to drivetrain and suspension and still have everything
needed to return to stock “someday” and I have morals that would keep me far away from wild top chops or really wild stuff.
The design of the car is truly amazing and each and every time I look at it, I smile. Now with it lowered and graphic’d I even giggle a little.
Great car and great fun…what it is all about.
Thanks again!
Cheers!
Randy C.”