PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — There’s no mistaking a Tatra.
With its sloping back and a big fin, the Czech-made Tatra T-87 stands out on any road. John Long and Helena Mitchell know. They have taken one of their Tatras — yes, they’ve owned several — all over North America.
After all, it’s not many couples that drive their car to the Arctic Circle and back, much less making the trip in an obscure European auto. Long says he even took the air-cooled car across the Mojave Desert in summer. “That,” Long says, “was really stupid.”
Long, of Malibu, Calif., says he considers the car to be brilliantly engineered. It is also one of the more aerodynamic cars for its time. It is said that Ferdinand Porsche was influenced by the design when it came to designing the cars that would bear his name.
We caught up to Long and Mitchell over the summer at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, where crowds gathered around their T-87. Long and Mitchell made the Tatra a little less obscure.
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. –
There’s no mistaking a Tatra.With its sloping back and a big fin, the Czech-made Tatra T-87 stands out on any road. John Long and Helena Mitchell know.
They have taken one of their Tatras — yes, they’ve owned several — all over North America.
After all, it’s not many couples that drive their car to the Arctic Circle and back, much less making the trip in an obscure European auto. Long says he even took the air-cooled car across the Mojave Desert in summer. “That,” Long says, “was really stupid.”
Long, of Malibu, Calif., says he considers the car to be brilliantly engineered. It is also one of the more aerodynamic cars for its time. It is said that Ferdinand Porsche was influenced by the design when it came to designing the cars that would bear his name.
We caught up to Long and Mitchell over the summer at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, where crowds gathered around their T-87. Long and Mitchell made the Tatra a little less obscure. WATCH THE VIDEO
November 16th, 2014