Interesting czech cars

[donCarlos]

I´ve always admired the american cars (the vintage ones ) for their design and style. Today, I made some research on the internet and I found some very, very interesting cars made here, in the former Czechoslovakia.

One of the most interesting and stylish ones is Aero 50. Only seven of them were built (between 1939 and 1941). It seems that there are only two exemplars of this wonderful car now - one is in California, in the Blackhawk Collection (that one was found in Arizona and renovated) and the other is stored in some local museum in the Czech Republic.

This is the one found in Arizona:

And this is quite interesting photo - I guess that you can´t travel with more style than that

The next very interesting car is Tatra 52 (notice the shape of the front bumber)

Now, a small time jump to the 50´s, when all our politicians used this Tatra 603

And my favourite one - Skoda 450 (it´s not so interesting, but I think it´s the only cabrio made here after the war)

It´s quite hard to find a Skoda 450 and if, they are quite expensive. Skoda Octavia is the car I wish for. They can be found (in quite a bad state of repair) very cheap (less than 1000USD) and they are quite nice. I hope I´ll be able to buy one, repair it and use it.

I hope you like the cars

 

[BellyTank]

Aah.. the Tatra, with the air-cooled, rear mounted V-8.
Seperate, finned cylinders- it's a great looking engine. I took some photos of cars, last time I was in Prague- must find them.
There is also a type of little van, which I can't remember the make of but they're really cute.

Good post, donCarlos.

B
T

 

[Flivver]

The prewar aerodynamic Tatras as well as the postwar Tatraplan T600 were always among my favorite designs. There's a great website on the T600:

http://www.tatraplan.co.uk/

 

[Mr. 'H']

A great specimen that was photographed locally in Dublin. It's a '52. What an amazing shape. I imagine the power wouldn't have been as good as the 8s in the States though.

1952 Tatra T600 "Tatraplan" (in RHD)

The streamlined design is fantastic but the engine in only a 4 cyl 2 ltr.

 

[dhermann1]

Tatra 600

I recall hearing about a Czech car of the 30's that was so well engineered and builtr that it lasted forever. A million miles was nothing to it. Is this the car? It's a real beauty. Very reminiscent of the early SAAB's and late 40's Packards.
Now, that Aero 50 looks like it's very Buick inspired in its styling. Am I just being overly Buick-o-phile? Anyhow, very cool pix of some very cool cars.

 

[donCarlos]

As for the power of the tatras - no, they were not very powerful vehicles. My grandfather had the chance to compare it directly with the american cruisers of the 50´s and he said that you could go a 130kph in the Chevy without even noticing it moves, but Tatras seemed to dissolve spontaneously in 90kph. (so he said)

The car which literally went a million miles was Tatra 87.
Czech travelers Zikmund and Hanzelka rode it all around the world during their journeys.

But the definitely most endurable czech car ever was Velorex. It´s a three-wheeled vehicle with metal skeleton with a leather cover attached on it. It was meant to be an ideal car for disabled and for developing countries (mainly african, because it can be repaired with hammer and needle). I wonder, why these plans failed, because it´s a great vehicle.

 

[Twitch]

Hmm? Hammer and needle, that's what I use to fix my cars now.[huh]

 

[donCarlos]

Hmm? Hammer and needle, that's what I use to fix my cars now.[huh]

I´d like to see your car´s decking repaired by a needle lol

 

[BellyTank]

A great specimen that was photographed locally in Dublin. It's a '52. What an amazing shape. I imagine the power wouldn't have been as good as the 8s in the States though.

1952 Tatra T600 "Tatraplan" (in RHD)

The streamlined design is fantastic but the engine in only a 4 cyl 2 ltr.

But a "typical/average" US, V-8 car in 1950-ish (a '50 Ford, for instance)was a Flathead (call it 4 litres) and had some good torque, 100 odd hp a shaped like a brick. Compare this to a streamlined, lightweight, OHV European of 4 cylinders and 2 litres with a revvy 50hp, a car of half the weight of its US counterpart. OHV and OHC engines were common in Europe at this time, when flatheads were still normal in the average American car. A car weighing 2 ton needs 180ftlb torque and 100hp to shift it from a standstill and get up to speed. European and American car cultures and engineering aproaches have always been very different. I realise we are are comparing an average American car to a European which is not quite average for the time but maybe you get my point.


B
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[Mr. 'H']

As for the power of the tatras - no, they were not very powerful vehicles. My grandfather had the chance to compare it directly with the american cruisers of the 50´s and he said that you could go a 130kph in the Chevy without even noticing it moves, but Tatras seemed to dissolve spontaneously in 90kph. (so he said)

I can attest to the American cars going 130kph (90mph). I can easily do 90 in my Buick (it's a str8 8).

It's great having that power, but it's funny that most all standard 8 cars in the 40/50s has this power, even though most didn't speed.

I watched an old driver ed. movie narrated by Jimmy Stewart I think and he said that the speed was a by-product of Americans' demand for torque.

 

[Mr. 'H']

But a "typical/average" US, V-8 car in 1950-ish (a '50 Ford, for instance)was a Flathead (call it 4 litres) and had some good torque, 100 odd hp a shaped like a brick. Compare this to a streamlined, lightweight, OHV European of 4 cylinders and 2 litres with a revvy 50hp, a car of half the weight of its US counterpart. OHV and OHC engines were common in Europe at this time, when flatheads were still normal in the average American car. A car weighing 2 ton needs 180ftlb torque and 100hp to shift it from a standstill and get up to speed. European and American car cultures and engineering aproaches have always been very different. I realise we are are comparing an average American car to a European which is not quite average for the time but maybe you get my point.


B
T

Some very interesting points. But do you really think that a 4 cyl OHV 2 ltr would or could compete with a straight 8 with between 4 and 5 ltrs?

Are these engines really half the weight?

European and American car cultures and engineering aproaches have always been very different.

Yes, but why?

[huh]

Just curious about

- social reasons
- economic considerations
- manufacturing reasons
- need for speed, etc.

 

[Lucky Strike]

Now, that Aero 50 looks like it's very Buick inspired in its styling. Am I just being overly Buick-o-phile?

I rather think you are...

The Aero reminds me of the work of coachbuilders like Saoutchik and Figoni & Falaschi, normally done on stuff like Delahayes, Delages, Bugattis etc.

 

[donCarlos]

All eastern block machinery has one common quality - the engineers prefered easy serviceability and good functionality to design (not an issue to these cars) and comfort. The economic reason was also important - how to make a good looking luxurious car with great engine when all material was used, for example, to build locomotives and mining machines. That was situation east of east germany.

In the western europe, it was mainly the afterwar crisis, which made the companies to design smaller cars with lower fuel consuption. When the crisis was over, they could develop other designs, but people found that the smaller cars are better in many aspects.

I don´t think that the USA has ever gotten such a lection (except the crisis in the 30´s and maybe during the WWII gas restrictions), so the cars were designed primarily for comfort.

 

[donCarlos]

I rather think you are...

The Aero reminds me of the work of coachbuilders like Saoutchik and Figoni & Falaschi, normally done on stuff like Delahayes, Delages, Bugattis etc.

And the Aero and Tatras are from Sodomka