Browsing Events & Meetings
“Drink the damn wine. DRINK IT.” The wine in question was the buck-fifty bottle of hooch given to award winners at this year’s Concours d’LeMons, and the vicarious desire was being expressed by some homeless dude who looked like the trash lady from Labyrinth. The 2011 LeMons show—the third annual held during Pebble weekend, and a sister event to the 24 Hours of LeMons races—was held in a public park in downtown Seaside, California, where it once again showcased some of the worst, weirdest, and most awful vehicles ever barfed out by automakers. Really, it was only appropriate that a few of society’s outcasts were on hand.
Truth be told, the joint was at least as much a used-car lot than it was an auto show, with at least one out of every three vehicles for sale. Aluminum-foil covered van? $2500! Awesome, clapped-out Chevy Vega Nomad? $4000! A 46,000-mile Mustang II? $3000!
It was also a fantastic time. There were smiles and Renaults and laughing and Pintos. There were insane personal projects—the Studebaker with Chevy and Hemi V-8s, for one. There were a bunch of LeMons race cars. And there were the awards handed out by the judges. Keep scrolling to see a few of the winners, and be sure to head into the photo gallery to see the entire field at the highly entertaining 2011 Concours d’LeMons.
More Tatra pix:
http://www.caranddriver.com/news/car/11q3/2011_concours_d_lemons_crap_crap_and_more_crap-auto_shows/gallery/2011_concours_d_26rsquo_3blemons_3a_crap_2c_crap_2c_and_more_crap_photo_168
http://www.caranddriver.com/news/car/11q3/2011_concours_d_lemons_crap_crap_and_more_crap-auto_shows
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/08/citroen-fan-finds-a-new-love-a-czech-made-tatra/1
August 22nd, 2011
The Lodge at Pebble Beach hosts the ultimate champagne-and-caviar car show, but it’s the Concours d’LeMons that rattles and backfires its way into a car lover’s heart.
No canapés or caviar
Galbraith and a friend, Jay Lamm, developed the Concours d’LeMons concept.
Galbraith had been going to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. He found it “a fantastic event.” Yet, it was getting a bit stuffy.
“Pebble Beach was the zenith of the car-show world,” he said. “Over a few bottles of wine, we decided to be the nadir.”
The worst, in a word.
Don’t expect a waiter in a tux to serve canapés off a silver tray as you admire a 1960s hippie bus with beading in its windows and an exhaust pipe that’s falling off.
This year, Concours d’LeMons also offers historical curiosities, such as a 1951 Tatra. A product of Czech Cold War engineering, the Tatra was built by comrades on a Soviet Star assembly line.
“The car was made behind the Iron Curtain. Unfortunately, it didn’t stay there,” Galbraith said.
http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20110820/LIFESTYLE/108200309/Salinas-area-auto-show-idolizes-classic-lemons
August 20th, 2011
Tatra Technical Museum in collaboration with the Office of the Senate
holds an exhibition “Happy Journey or the history of Tatra“. It was opened yesterday and attracted lots of people.
Tatra Museum
Hooray hooray … we successfully launched our new exhibition on the grounds of the Senate … you are cordially invited to / some pictures from opening ceremony of our new exhibition “Happy journey” from the Senate Parliament of Czech Republic … you are welcome!
Tatra Technical Museum in collaboration with the Office of the Senate holding an exhibition “Šťasnou way or the history of TATRA”. The exhibition will be on display in the exhibition hall of the Senate in Prague Wallenstein Square from 18 8th – 16 10th 2011th Open the daily, admission free … so that you, who’s to our Kopřivnice you away, do not hesitate to take this opportunity to see pieces from the museum in the capital!
The exhibition is on display in the exhibition hall of the Senate in Prague Wallenstein Square from Aug. 18 – Oct 16 2011. It is opened everyday and its admission is free. So do not hesitate to take this opportunity to see exhibits from the museum in the capital of Prague!
See also: http://novojicinsky.denik.cz/zpravy_region/tatra-je-k-videni-v-senatu-cr20110817.html
Tatra is seen in the Senate
Kopřivnice – Exhibition of Technical Museum Tatra visited the premises of the Senate. As of today there is an exhibition entitled Bon Voyage, or history of Tatra.
Trade Technical Museum Tatra already visited many places, not only in the Czech Republic but also abroad. The premises of the Senate will be a separate exhibition dedicated solely and only brand Tatra on display for the first time.
Visitors to our capital city and the area of the Chamber will be able to see an exhibition titled “Bon Voyage, or history of Tatra” from today, ie, from Thursday, the 18th August. The exhibition is devoted to the key points of history Kopřivnice. “The exhibition got its name from the promotional film of the same contemporary, which is part of it,” said its Chief Curator Lucy Kempná.
In brief, lasting approximately twelve minutes, the film is presented one of the most famous cars Kopřivnice, namely Tatra 603 The film comes from the late fifties and the curators is a classic promotional material. “Tatra 603 is shown in the film as a very reliable, easy to use, safe, plus a beautiful vehicle. Besides this we have to create materials for the exhibition came out well, “explained Kempná with the fact that Tatra cars were, and still is, the most reliable in its class.
The exhibition which is located in the Senate is in the form of information panels. Visitors are able to read them a lot of interesting information. “They will learn from them not only interesting and important historical points in the history of the car, so how it all began, when began the manufacturing of cars and who was behind the success of the factory in the twenties and thirties, but of course also interesting technical or mention of promising projects that thwarted by its decision the regime in Czechoslovakia, “approached the appearance of the exhibition curator Kopřivnice. For a better idea of the exhibition organizers added information written on a number of contemporary models osobníchi trucks from the entire period of production, with plenty of contemporary promotional materials and brochures, technical documentation and drawings. “Visitors will see original racing suit and a famous athlete Joseph Veřmiřovského of 20 years, cut the engine or motor with T603 transmission Tatra 30, “said Kempná with that in nearby Trčkovské gallery will reflect the already mentioned contemporary film” Bon Voyage “. The interesting extra information come even strangers. The exhibition is a bilingual, panels contain labels both in Czech and in English.
Exhibition “Godspeed or from the history of Tatra” came into the room of the Senate thanks to the success of that brand here Kopřivnice seen at an exhibition two years ago. “We’re here just exhibited two years ago when we were first approached by the Senate. It was the creation of the exhibition on the history of Czech transport, “remembered further Kempná. “Then we started to cooperate and we agreed that in future we will be able to exhibit the premises of the Senate and to present the Tatra brand independently. And now it happened, “said curator.
August 19th, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFb6FKoWkME
August 15th, 2011
The Tatra Register Deutschland organised its 17th annual rally in the Muensterland area last weekend. Though the weather forecast was doubtfull,
the weather was pretty good with only a short heavy rainfall on saturday proving the weather forecast was not completely wrong. Cars attending were 
a T11, a T12, a T57 sport, a T75, a T 97, three Tatraplans and lots of T 603s and T 613s. Organiser Josef Krumpelbeck & co did a magnificent job with a 40 km and a 100 km run, a perfect roadbook and varied scenery. Competitors came from Austria, the Netherlands and Germany.
Competitor Bert Barents sent Tatra World his photos. Part 1 ; Part 2 ; Part 3
August 8th, 2011
July 19th, 2011
The overall leader in the trucks category also made a big leap towards the final victory today. Indeed, in this especially strong category, Russian Firdaus Kabirov (Kamaz) made a statement by becoming the first truck driver to seize a 2nd stage win in the 2011 Silk Way. On his way to the win, the leader took advantage of Czech Ales Loprais (Tatra) faltering towards the end of the stage.
Loprais’ co-driver suffered from several headaches after having been shaken around at high speed. As a result, Kabirov came in ahead of German Franz Echter (MAN), who was today’s runner-up 3:10 minutes behind the winner, i.e., 1:07 ahead of Loprais. Nevertheless, the Czech with the yellow truck is pretty much isolated in 2nd place, 52:08 mins behind Kabirov but 43:16 mins ahead of the other Kamaz in the provisional top 3, that of Andrey Karginov (who only managed to finish 10th today).
But chickens should not be counted before they hatch. Indeed, while the current time differences may seem unassailable under normal circumstances, the race is still not over and the leaders still have the most difficult part before them. They will have to manage their lead until Sochi without making catastrophic mistakes but maintaining a high pace. And all drivers dread this rigorous test of concentration.
Tomorrow (Friday) crews tackle two short special stages en route to Maykop. The day begins with a 36km liaison section to the first 113.68 km timed stage. The terrain features wide, open grassland and narrow, winding paths before heading into a 30km neutralization zone. The second timed section will be extremely fast, according to race officials, and will feature numerous 90-degree bends.
Silk Way Rally RESULTS: Stage 5 Astrakhan-Stavropol Trucks Top 10 Day/All
Top 10 Trucks Stage results SS05 Astrakhan-Stavropol
01) Kabirov/Mokeev/Tanin (RUS) I Kamaz I 07:12:28 I 00:00:00
02) Echter/Ruf/Echter (D) I MAN TGS I 07:15:38 I 00:03:10
03) Loprais/Holan/Stajf (CZ) I Tatra Proto I 07:16:45 I 00:04:17
04) Ardavichus/Turlubaev/Kuzmich (KZ) I Kamaz I 07:34:19 I 00:21:51
05) Van Ginkel/Wams/Van Veenendaal (NL) I Ginaf I 07:47:31 I 00:35:03
06) Stacey/Willemsen/Kinderen (NL) I De Rooy Iveco I 07:50:59 I 00:38:31
07) Behringer/Kupper/Karg (D) I MAN TGS I 07:52:55 I 00:40:27
08) Mardeev Jr./Belyaev/Mirniy (RUS) I Kamaz I 07:53:23 I 00:40:55
09) Maardev/Sotnikov/Yakovlev (RUS) I Kamaz I 08:01:34 I 00:49:06
10) Karginov/Mizyukaev/Devyatkin (RUS) I Kamaz I 08:02:41 I 00:50:13
Top 10 Trucks Overall results after SS05 Astrakhan-Stavropol
01) Kabirov/Mokeev/Tanin (RUS) I Kamaz I 29:30:19 I 00:00:00
02) Loprais/Holan/Stajf (CZ) I Tatra Proto I 30:22:27 I 00:52:08
03) Karginov/Mizyukaev/Devyatkin (RUS) I Kamaz I 31:05:43 I 01:35:24
04) Stacey/Willemsen/Kinderen (NL) I De Rooy Iveco I 31:31:58 I 02:01:39
05) Echter/Ruf/Echter (D) I MAN TGS I 32:22:40 I 02:52:21
06) Van Ginkel/Wams/Van Veenendaal (NL) I GINAF I 32:35:46 I 03:05:27
07) Mardeev Jr./Belyaev/Mirniy (RUS) I Kamaz I 32:36:58 I 03:06:39
08) Versluis/Bruynkens/Schuurmans (NL) I MAN TGA I 33:19:34 I 03:49:15
09) Maardev/Sotnikov/Yakovlev (RUS) I Kamaz I 33:55:06 I 04:24:47
10) Adua/Marco/Busoms (F/ES) I De Rooy Iveco I 34:25:46 I 04:55:27
July 14th, 2011
The Lane Motor Museum in Nashville has built a reputation on the wide variety of cars it houses. Among the Peels, Panhards and Martins are the more prosaic Fiats, Citroëns and Hondas (usually Euro- or Japan-spec).
Then, there are the Tatras. Museum owner Jeff Lane has been collecting them for more than a decade. Outside of the Czech Republic, there are more Tatras at the Lane than at any other museum in the world.
“When we first opened in 1993, we had most of them on display in the first grouping as you enter,” Lane said. “One time, we only had a few out and some visitors said, ‘Geez, I came to see the Tatras. We read that you have a lot more!’ So we’ve gone back to always having at least five or six on display.”
When we asked how many the museum owned, Lane squinted his eyes and said, “About 17, I think.” Then he consulted his list: “17, 18, 19 . . . 22,” he said. “Sorry, I forgot a few.”
Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110713/CARNEWS/110719955
July 14th, 2011
Set on the tranquil lawn of Goodwood House, far from the throng of racing engines, the ‘Style et Luxe’ is a cherished bastion of artistry and good taste. The competition comprised around 50 cars in several classes representing the history of motoring.
This year’s Cartier Style et Luxe featured seven classes with standouts including Sir Norman Foster’s recreation of Buckminster Fuller’s amazing 1934 Dymaxion, which wowed the crowds in the Extreme Lines – Pre-War Streamlined Specials class.
Also vying for attention in the streamlining genre was a 1936 Lincoln Zephyr V12 Sedan and Tom Rollason’s 1939 Aston Martin Atom but it was left to Kees Smit’s magnificent 1939 Tatra T87 to take home the silver.
While most of the panel may know little about cars, the artist’s intrinsic understanding of proportion, detail, texture and finish invoke some intriguing and often rather alternative opinions, and the judges bring a wide range of sympathies to the panel.
Originally Kees Smit was invited with his T77a, but its engine let him down. After consulting the organisation, he took his 1939 T87 to Goodwood. The car was driven from Amsterdam on its own power and took the laurels. Apart from its streamlined shape, the jury showed interest in the T87’s rear engine, the central hinges servicing front and rear doors and the chrome tubed, adjustable front seats.
Preview:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/goodwood-festival-of-speed/8565916/Goodwood-Festival-of-Speed-2011-Cartier-Style-et-Luxe.html
July 5th, 2011
The organizing team of the July 9-16 Silk Way Rally has released the starting list of the truck category consisting of 36 crews, which is the highest number in the rally’s history, including the two crews of InstaForex Loprais Team with Ales Loprais and Tomas Vratny (Bonver Dakar Team).
Already the first look at the starting list makes the Dakar fan happy, though even much more stunning competition is heading towards the Dakar 2012 in South America. One famous name has left the starting grids – Vladimir Chagin quit his racing career and will play a different role within the Kamaz team. Another big name has joined the rally – Hans Stacey returns. The winner of Dakar 2007 and Transorientale with Central Europe Rally will drive an Iveco special for Team de Rooy.
The local “sbornaya kommanda” of the Kamaz Team fields as many as seven (!) crews and places emphasis on the coming young generation of drivers after Chagin’s departure. Team’s No. 1 is last year’s winner, Eduard Nikolaev starting with the lowest number 300. Nikolaev also receives Chagin’s navigator, Sergey Savostin, who is full of experience after 15 years of racing at the top. Another Russian crew is lead by the experienced Firdaus Kabirov and the young Ayrat Mardeev whose father, Ilgizar, will be the team’s rapid assistance. The Cummins-powered Kamaz in Astana colors will be driven by Artur Ardavichus. For the Russians, Silk Way Rally is a great opportunity to test new crew members before actually sending them to the big Dakar. The Dutch squad is numerous this year. Team de Rooy sends two Iveco trucks driven by Hans Stacey and the Frenchman, Joseph Adua. Ginaf Rally Power starts in Russia for the first time and will field two trucks with Wuf and Edwin Van Ginkel. Team Veka MAN fields two trucks, with Peter Versluis and Pascal de Baar, with the support of a very fast Man truck of Toni Maurer Motorsports driven by the experienced Franz Echter.
From Hollnad, there will also be Johan Elfrink in his fast Mercedes Axor. Also the Czech participation is large – 4 Tatra trucks and 2 Liaz make the highest number of Czech trucks in the rally’s history. Ales Loprais will drive under the prestige starting number of 301, Tomas Vratny with 319. Ales Loprais will also introduce a new racing special. There will also be the Belarussian MAZ factory team and the fast Hungarian, Zoltan Kovacs.
The organizing team of the July 9-16 Silk Way Rally has released the starting list of the truck category consisting of 36 crews, which is the highest number in the rally’s history, including the two crews of InstaForex Loprais Team with Ales Loprais and Tomas Vratny (Bonver Dakar Team).
Already the first look at the starting list makes the Dakar fan happy, though even much more stunning competition is heading towards the Dakar 2012 in South America. One famous name has left the starting grids – Vladimir Chagin quit his racing career and will play a different role within the Kamaz team. Another big name has joined the rally – Hans Stacey returns. The winner of Dakar 2007 and Transorientale with Central Europe Rally will drive an Iveco special for Team de Rooy.
The local “sbornaya kommanda” of the Kamaz Team fields as many as seven (!) crews and places emphasis on the coming young generation of drivers after Chagin’s departure. Team’s No. 1 is last year’s winner, Eduard Nikolaev starting with the lowest number 300. Nikolaev also receives Chagin’s navigator, Sergey Savostin, who is full of experience after 15 years of racing at the top. Another Russian crew is lead by the experienced Firdaus Kabirov and the young Ayrat Mardeev whose father, Ilgizar, will be the team’s rapid assistance. The Cummins-powered Kamaz in Astana colors will be driven by Artur Ardavichus. For the Russians, Silk Way Rally is a great opportunity to test new crew members before actually sending them to the big Dakar. The Dutch squad is numerous this year. Team de Rooy sends two Iveco trucks driven by Hans Stacey and the Frenchman, Joseph Adua. Ginaf Rally Power starts in Russia for the first time and will field two trucks with Wuf and Edwin Van Ginkel. Team Veka MAN fields two trucks, with Peter Versluis and Pascal de Baar, with the support of a very fast Man truck of Toni Maurer Motorsports driven by the experienced Franz Echter.
From Hollnad, there will also be Johan Elfrink in his fast Mercedes Axor. Also the Czech participation is large – 4 Tatra trucks and 2 Liaz make the highest number of Czech trucks in the rally’s history. Ales Loprais will drive under the prestige starting number of 301, Tomas Vratny with 319. Ales Loprais will also introduce a new racing special. There will also be the Belarussian MAZ factory team and the fast Hungarian, Zoltan Kovacs.
(source: www.loprais.cz ; http://www.marathonrally.com/news/silk_way_rally_starting_list_of_the_trucks_offers_a_very_hard_competition_2011.18552.0.html)
See also:
http://loprais.com/loprais-eng/index.php?obsah=zobraz&id_clanku=479
http://loprais.com/loprais-eng/index.php?obsah=zobraz&id_clanku=478
July 5th, 2011
