https://www.flickr.com/photos/29725182@N07/page1/

A T 75 at the 2013 Brno- Soběšice 2013 hillclimb

Many, many more pix at http://www.autorevue.cz/brno–sobesice-2013-chvilemi-pekne-ostry-zavod–142x-foto/ch-49277#articleStart

Driving a Tatra 603 from Prague to 2014 Pebble Beach Concours’ Funding has been unsuccessful. This project’s goal was not reached, just $ 5684 was raised, while the organizers hoped to get $ 50.000.  The people who initiated the project will not get any as the did not reachthe goal.  The people who pledged therefore will not be charged anything

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1462432953/the-untold-story-of-tatra-prague-to-pebble-or-bust

Ferdinand Porsche’s use of in-wheel electric motors in some of his earliest automobiles, including the Lohner-Porsche Semper Vivus, the first hybrid vehicle, established him as an innovator and an engineering genius and certainly helped launch his career in automobile design and construction. He can’t claim to have invented the in-wheel electric motor, however; that credit should instead go to one of several inventors, including a fellow countryman of Porsche’s who went on to display his own engineering prowess on this side of the Atlantic.

Like Porsche and distant relative Hans Ledwinka, Joseph Ledwinka was born in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire, specifically Vienna, but unlike the other two men, Joseph Ledwinka emigrated to America in 1896 to work for the Chicago Coach and Carriage Company, likely as a draftsman or engineer. Ledwinka would eventually become an automobile engineering juggernaut in his own right; in the 1920s and 1930s, through his association with Budd, he would go on to file patents for dozens, if not hundreds, of methods of body construction and contribute to the development of all-steel automobile bodies and unit-body structures.

- See more at: http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2014/02/12/ferdinand-porsche-joseph-ledwinka-and-the-invention-of-the-electric-hub-motor/#sthash.YHR6jp8i.dpuf

More:  http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2014/02/12/ferdinand-porsche-joseph-ledwinka-and-the-invention-of-the-electric-hub-motor/

Tatra 87, auch „Achter“ genannt, stellt den Höhepunkt der Konstruktionskunst im tschechischen Automobilwerk Tatra, in Koprivnice dar.

Seine Konstrukteure, Hans Ledwinka und Erich Überlacker haben in dem Automobil alle ihre bisherigen Erfahrungen vereint und sinnvoll realisiert. Luftgekühlter Motor, aerodynamische Karosserie ein leichtes, steifes Fahrwerk mit zentralem tragendem Rohr. Dieses Konzept hat sich über Jahrzehnte auch bei schweren Lastwagen bestens bewährt. Das zentrale Rohr hat sogar der geniale Schweizer Motorradkonstrukteur Fritz Egli, zum Beispiel beim „Egli-Honda“ für seine Rennmaschinen adaptiert.

More: http://oldtimer-veranstaltung.de/inserat/tatra-87-auferstehung-eines-besonderen-automobils/

I was in Munich for DLD, a conference, and I had a morning to kill.  So I joined a group tour of modern art museum Pinakothek der Moderne’s design wing.  There was all kinds of impressive stuff — but I immediately gravitated to a crazy-looking, beautiful car.

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/history-of-tatra-87-2014-2#here-it-is-just-look-at-it-1

This 1928 Tatra 12 is said to be one of only one in the US. Engineered by the criminally underrated Hans Ledwinka, these cars featured the same novel tube backbone chassis with swing axles and integral engine mounting as pioneered by the earlier 11—a design carried over to later streamliner V8 cars and still in use today on the company’s fantastic line of heavy duty trucks. Find this one here on eBay in Paupack, Pennsylvania with no reserve and a $35k starting bid. Special thanks to reader Robert B. for the submission!

http://bringatrailer.com/2014/02/06/only-one-in-the-usa-1928-tatra-12-project/

http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/carsforsale/tatra/unspecified/1626837.html

A series of dedicated marque days for classics held at the National Tramway Museum in Crich, Derbyshire has been cancelled for 2014.

Owners of Morris Minors, Minis, Volkswagen Beetles and Type 2s and fans of Eastern Bloc classics have all expressed disappointment at the loss of the events at the museum.

Laura Greaves, the Marketing & Business Development Executive at Crich said: “Our visiting vehicle weekends have shown a steady decrease in attendance, so the decision was made to discontinue them to concentrate our resources on an enhanced ‘Classic Transport Gathering’ in August as an alternative.”

Phil Dust from the Yugo Zastava Owners Club said: “it’s a massive shame. I missed it last year for the first time in years and was really looking forward to attending this year.”

Founder of the SALT rally for Cold War classics Allen Walker added: “from an Eastern Bloc car perspective it’s a disaster. Apart from the SALT event there is now no other collective event for these cars, and the loss of Crich is more poignant as it’s such a perfect venue.”

Classic Car Weekly contributor and Trabant owner Dominic Russell-Price summed it up: “Crich is missing a real trick here. This year is the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and they could have done something amazing.”

Owners of Eastern Bloc classics, Morris Minors, VWs and Minis are encouraged to attend the new Classic Transport Gathering at Crich on 23-25 August.

http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/

Tatra may not enjoy the same familiarity as other automakers of the 20th century, but the Eastern European firm contributed many an engineering advance to the automobile world, some of them little recognized until decades after the fact. Next August, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance will pay tribute to Tatra by giving the under-appreciated automaker its own display category.

Nowadays, Tatra models continue to enjoy a loyal following among collectors who appreciate their innovative designs and advanced styling, and the Classic Car Club of America formally recognizes a number of Tatras (1927-1948 Models T70, T70A, T80, T77, T77A and T87 with prewar styling) as Full Classics. Though individual Tatra models have appeared at Pebble Beach in the past (most notably in 2006, when a Tatra Type 80 owned by Evzen Majoros took the Chairman’s Trophy), the marque has never before had a dedicated class. For 2014, it will join the likes of Ruxton, the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, Steam Cars and Maserati (celebrating its 100th anniversary) on the greens at Pebble Beach, finally getting (some of) the recognition it deserves.

The 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance will take place August 17. For more information, visit PebbleBeachConcours.net.

- See more at: http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2014/02/06/tribute-to-tatras-to-take-place-at-pebble-beach/?refer=news#sthash.gAL807cZ.dpuf