A Tatra T57K with FFI crosses( French Forces of the Interior (Forces Françaises de l’Intérieur) painted on its wings, participated in the liberation of Paris in August 1944. The “German” Tatra, a booty vehicle ceased during the Allied Forces march from Normandy to Paris, even had a very prominent role at the August 26/29 victory parade, even leading it! But who was behind the wheel? It was a Spaniard! Amado Granell, an anti-fascist Spaniard, became part of the French 2nd Armored Division under General Philippe Leclerc and landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day with 2000 other countrymen. In fact Granell was one of the very first to enter Paris and he was granted to head the parade. The Spanish participation on the liberation of Paris was not very much published, but recently more acknowleged.
Amado Granell: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amado_Granell
Spaniards in WW II: http://www.mve2gm.es/la-nueve/
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
The original T 613 Vignale coupe was crashed, but a Slovak enthusiast has built a replica, using a T 613 chassis with a very few original original of the original vehicle.
The Czech marque is emerging from the shadows, and collectors are taking note
Until recently, Tatra, at least in the eyes of most western collectors, was one of those weird brands from behind the Iron Curtain. Most early Tatras could easily be mistaken for a prop from “Metropolis” or some early Jules Verne screen adaptation that melded art deco design with a steampunk aesthetic. Few U.S. car collectors had ever seen a real Tatra in the metal.
The recent feature of a special class for Tatras at the 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance seemed to be the culmination of a journey for the marque on this side of the Atlantic. That, plus a number of high-profile appearances in addition to a serious gain in Tatra numbers in North America over the last few years, has arguably propelled the marque into a spotlight, even if a temporary one.
Full article: http://autoweek.com/article/classic-cars/has-tatra-made-it-west-collector-car
Rumors of upcoming mid-engined Corvettes are one of those things that never seem to go away, like that funny rash on your thigh or that process server who just can’t seem to take a hint. Strangely, there was another alternate Corvette layout that never seems to resurface: the rear-engined ‘Vette. Yet there actually was one.
http://jalopnik.com/forget-the-mid-engined-corvette-there-was-once-a-rear-1635589421
On 6–7 October 1989 the national celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the East German state took place with Soviet Union preseident MichaelGorbachev in attendance. During the event, several hundred members of the Free German Youth began chanting,“Gorby, help us! Gorby, save us!”.[53] In a private conversation between the two leaders Honecker praised the success of the nation, but Gorbachev knew that, in reality, it faced bankruptcy; East Germany had already accepted billions of dollars in loans from West Germany during the decade as it sought to stabilise its economy. Attempting to make Honecker accept a need for reforms, Gorbachev warned “life punishes those who come too late”, yet Honecker maintained that “we will solve our problems ourselves with socialist means”. Protests outside the reception at the Palace of the Republic led to hundreds of arrests.
As the reform movement spread throughout Central and Eastern Europe, mass demonstrations against the East German government erupted, most prominently in Leipzig—the first of several demonstrations which took place on Monday night across the country. In response, an elite paratroop unit was dispatched to Leipzig—almost certainly on Honecker’s orders, since he was commander-in-chief of the army. A bloodbath was only averted when local party officials themselves ordered the troops to pull back. In the following week, Honecker faced a torrent of criticism. This gave his Politburo comrades the impulse they needed to replace him.
