CALENDAR 2021: TATRA IN PARIS
In February 2020, a generous presentation took place in Paris, which has only happened once in many decades – an exhibition of Tatra cars from its beginnings to the last model of a passenger car. The idea of a large exhibition of Tatra cars at the Retromobil in Paris was born for several long years. It is very gratifying about the whole initiative that it came from French collectors and fans who decided to present to the local public the rich history of the Tatra brand, but also the story of travelers Hanzelka and Zikmund, who traveled with the Tatra 87 in politically difficult times and created a legend of unique cars with air-cooled engine. When Denis Alexander and I drank coffee one cold evening in Prague and he offered me that my exhibition of photographs of Tatra wrecks could be a diversification of this exhibition, I listened really carefully! Suddenly I hear the Frenchman telling me that a dream that seemed soarly unrealistic may soon come true! Above all, when the real preparations at all levels started, it was clear that this would be a very demanding logistical event. About half of the cars in the exhibition belonged to French collectors, but many unique cars needed to be brought to Paris from the Czech Republic. Loading and unloading rare cars in special trucks is a demanding process, but also a great show! Salon Rétromobile is one of the largest veteran car shows in the world. In a few days, it is visited by more than 100,000 spectators and is followed by many other initiatives throughout Paris – especially auctions. It was a little unimaginable for me what such traffic could actually look like and if it’s not a bit of an exaggerated number, but then we experienced it! Tens of thousands of people spilled over the exhibition every day. The most frequently asked questions were as follows: “What country is Tatra from? Czechs? And still produce? Ah, Tatra from the Paris-Dakar Rally, of course! ”We have to admit that in a car in self-sufficient France, Tatra is a bit of a mysterious brand and the intention to surprise the public with something they don’t know, even though it has a deep and rich tradition, has turned out great! It should be added that when this car show took place in February 2020, the coronavirus epidemic rolling in from China was already on our heels. Even during his car show, everything was relatively normal. It was still just “one of the news” on French television, but when I left, I had a problem getting on the plane, because many flights were canceled. The passengers, together with the airlines, dealt with a very complex situation, which was getting worse and more complicated every day. Two weeks later, such a large event could no longer take place, as well as many others that have not taken place since.
SKODA CALENDAR BY VLADIMIR CETTL OF POOR CONDITION DUTCH SKODA GARAGE
See for accompanying text and information how to buy a calendar: https://vladimircettl.com/2021-2/
formát: A3+ 48 x 33 cm
– rozsah: 13 listů
– každý výtisk je číslovaný a podepsaný
– cena: 555,-Kč + poštovné: 115,-Kč při platbě předem nebo 145,-Kč s dobírkou
– price: 39,- EUR with postage for the countries EU (SK, D, F…) & UK
– objednávky zasílejte na: vladimir@cettl.cz a do nadpisu zadejte slovo “kalendář tatra”nebo calendar skoda
– the orders to be sent to: vladimir@cettl.cz (the “calendar tatra”or”calendar skoda” in the
The remarkably advanced product of communist Czechoslovakia was produced for 20 years and was created in tens of thousands of pieces. However, the completely original version with three lights in the front mask is very rare.
The former flowering of Czechoslovak engineering called Tatra 603 began to be born in Kopřivnice in 1955. For the next twenty years, the company produced cars that fell into the hands of a number of important people from all over the world . Even the more advanced states, unencumbered by the communist establishment, admired what a small Central European country could produce; nothing comparable arose at the time in any of the surrounding Soviet satellites.
The communist government of its time needed representative passenger cars, and in 1953 it decided to supplement the state fleet with cars from Kopřivnice. The company’s management was given the task of developing and producing properly luxurious large limousines in the gallows deadline – Tatra had only 12 months to get the first results. This is too short a time for it to be reasonably possible to project the drawings into the first prototypes, but the Communists have never bothered with such things.
However, the industrial artist František Kardaus and the head of the design office of the carmaker Vladimír Popelář were not afraid of such a date, as they could pull out car designs from the drawer, which they gave rise to in their free time for their own pleasure in previous years. They developed a project for a car with a rounded body, following on from the previous Tatraplan and yet walking its own path. The first mobile specimen of the Tatra 603-1 was created in 1955 and in 1956 another nine pieces were manually assembled in the factory hall.
A year later, serial production was ceremoniously launched. Especially Western journalists could not believe what was created in Czechoslovakia at that time, when one copy of the T 603-1 was saddled by the Czechoslovak team at the Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo in 1958. And Tatra shone with the car at EXPU 1958 in Brussels.
The demand for the car was huge, but the first evolution of the Tatra 603 got outside Czechoslovakia only a handful. Even ordinary people in our country did not have a chance to get to the car, because it was made exclusively for party officials in high positions and their friendly counterparts. By 1963, when the second evolution of the car came, only a few thousand cars were built, most of which did not exist for a long time.
Today, the rare first evolution produced before 1959 is characterized mainly by three headlights in the middle of the front grille, which later had to be replaced by four in order for the car to meet applicable standards. The original versions are so highly sought after and one of them has now appeared in very good condition on sale in Slovakia in Dunajská Streda. It was there that the perfect black specimen from 1958 got in its original condition with the original exterior and all parts to this day. It looks really very good, as you can see on the source link, only the interior has been renovated according to the owner.
The current owner is obviously well aware of the rarity he puts into circulation, as he repeatedly mentions serial number 725 – that’s an early piece. For a polished car with an air-cooled V8 with a volume of 2.5 liters and a wheelbase of 2,750 millimeters with the original manufacturer’s label, it requires CZK 2.55 million. This makes this T603 one of the most expensive Czech cars ever on sale.
As we have already mentioned, the condition corresponds to the one mentioned. Despite the original condition, the car “suffers” only an insignificant patina, we do not see any scratches on the paint, only the engine apparently lost part of the 95 horses, which at one time managed to start it up to 170 km / h. However, the high price tag is justified by the uniqueness of the first 603 from the point of view of the history of Czechoslovak motoring – the very three lights in the middle are a sign of something unique. However, only a few cars in history have successfully afforded to place the headlights in other than usual places for them.
https://www.autoforum.cz/zajimavosti/k-mani-je-vzacna-puvodni-tatra-603-s-trojici-svetel-originalni-vuz-c-725-stoji-majlant/
The Dutch Annual Tatra Rally, traditionally held in the third weekend of September was troubled by a very bad weather forecast and the fast rise of Covid-19 infections, the so called “second wave”. Not that there was no understanding of course, but the organizers regretted that foreign participants had to cancel their trip because of a negative travel advice. Nevertheless, the weather improved considerably over the weekend, giving the organizers , the van Groning family, credits for their well organized rally.
Held in Fryslân, the route took us along minor roads through the centre and north of Fryslân, visiting several interesting museums like a corn-mill, Frisian boat museum (skûtsje), dreamery villages, the northern coast and the picturesque city of Dokkum.
Just days later, the authorities announced new rules to restrict the number of people at social meetings, circumstances that would have made the rallye impossible…………
Photos by Jan van Groning: https://www.rtvnof.nl/tatra-oldtimers-bij-museum-de-sukerei/?fbclid=IwAR3Xrjyd48Lh3IOkDVONkNNsqO6unhRSr9Q-gniYd8w0xPJfjJvDFAPjCcE
Kopřivnice Engineering Days comprise a unique interactive showcase of “popularly known” feats of engineering, as well as special cutting-edge technology.
Both big and small will find something here of interest. They will see static and dynamic demonstrations of trucks, special vehicles, cranes, agricultural machinery, fire trucks and other interesting equipment. All this in the attractive location of the TATRA test polygon. The tour will be accompanied by an interesting supporting program full of entertainment, concerts and experiences. The general partner of the event is the city of Kopřivnice and TATRA TRUCKS, Inc.
Free event
www.koprivnickednytechniky.webnode.cz
