In 1937 three pre-serial production cars were build of the T87, named the V787, which were presented at the Prague AutoSalon in 1937.
One of three build pre-serial V787 cars which were presented at the Automobil-Salon 1937 in Prague. The sun-roof is similar to the roof of the T77, the rear window between passengers compartment and the engine is divided similar to the T97, the shape of the front fenders ends with an edge in the front door and the dashboard was very simple with only one instrument - the speedometer - and differs to the first 1938-1939 production series [thanks to TATRA-Freunde International e.V. for pictures and description].
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The pre-serial V787 with slight differences to the first T87 production series of 1938-1939 (1937) >>> |
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STREAMLINING
& INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
Streamlining was the marketing gimique of the 1930s.
Streamlined shapes were applied to virtually everything, from
pencil sharpeners and telephones to trains and automobiles.
Either moving or stationairy,
streamlining had everything to do with marketing and little to
do with efficiency. The 1930s Tatra T77, T87 and T97 however are
superb examples of functional streamlining.
The Tatra T87 was designed and constructed in a time when Czechoslovakia was at the cutting edge of technology, industrial design, architecture and art. Like the T77, the T87 was often associated with modernism and featured in press photographs in front of modern style houses and buildings. The T87 was a perfect example of Czech engineering excellence and industrial design. The year 1936 also saw the introduction of a new highspeed aerodynamic express train called the Slovak Missile. It was equipped with two Tatra-engines of 175 hp, which made it possible to cover the 397 km from Prague to Bratislava (with a single stop in Brno) in 4 hours and 51 minutes cutting the previous journey time by one hour.
German advertisement for the aerodynamic Tatra T87 with rear-mounted air-cooled V8-engine and a maximum speed of 160 km/h (1936) >>>
Before WW II the
T87 was on sale in Germany at a price of RM
8450,-, ranking it at the very top of the luxury
car market. Its comparable competition consisted
of the following aerodynamic production passenger cars, available in Germany at that
time:
After the German occupation of CzechoSlovakia in 1939 the Nazis took over control of the Tatra factory and - acting on Hitler's orders - iimmediately stopped the production of the Tatra T97 after a production run of just 510 cars. The reason for this is the close resemblance between the T97 and the German VW KdF-Wagen. Before the war Tatra had ten legal claims against VW for infringement of patents, as VW-designer Ferdinand Porsche had used at least ten Tatra-patents for the design of the KdF-Wagen >>>>>>
The T97's big brother - the V8-powered T87 - did remain in production however in the war years 1939 to 1942. The T87 was a real favourite amongst German officers. Dr Fritz Todt, the German general inspector of the Autobahn network, even proclaimed that the T87 was the ultimate Autobahn car. According to some sources the T87 was said to be CzechoSlovakia's 'secret weapon', as German officers drove them so fast the tail - housing the V8-engine behind the rear axle - would break out in tight corners. It is even said that at one point the German officers were forbidden to drive T87s.
During German occupation Tatra built two prototypes of a T87 convertible in 1940. This car has just two side windows, larger side air scoops and a redesigned rear bonnet to make room for the convertible canvas roof. The rear bonnet has almost completely lost its distinctive tailfin.
Shortly after WW II, in 1946, the British Vauxhall
Motors company thouroughly evaluated a T87 from British Intelligence. British
Intelligence owned about a dozen T87s for secret
missions in Europe involving the captures of Nazi's on
the run. The luggage compartment behind the rear seat was used to hide
dead bodies of captures and executed Nazi's.
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| Advertising for the T87 (1938) >>> | ||
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After W.W.II the Czech writers Zikmund & Hanzelka used a Tatra T87 for extensive travels through the African continent. The T87 was seen as the third member of the team and gave them very reliable and comfortable transport through some of the worst African roads. They wrote a three-part book series about their African travels with the T87, and another six books about further travels using a Tatra T805 small truck. Zikmund & Hanzelka's Tatra T87 has been restored and is now on permanent display in the Technical Museum in Prague.
In the late 1940s Tatra changed the front of the T87. The new front was more bulbous and the headlamps had now been fully integrated in the car. Although it still had three headlamps, there were a few promotion cars with two headlamps. With these modifications the T87 stayed in production until 1950, making a total of 3023 cars to be built including the pre-WW II cars.
At the end of the production run of the T87, from the years 1950 to 1953, a small number of T87s were used as test-cars for the newly developed T603 air-cooled V8-engine (later to be used in the T603 aerodynamic saloon of 1955). Not only was a new engine fitted into these cars, but also changes were made to the styling of the T87-603. These changes included chrome striping on the sides (another T603 design feature) and a different rear treatment including a different hood fitted with rear windows!
For a short period in the late 1930's a smaller version of the T87 was available, the Tatra T97. This car was equipped with the world's first air-cooled flat four-cylinder engine with a chain driven single overhead camshaft per cylinder bank. The T97 was ordered to be taken out of production as soon as Germany took over in Czechoslovakia in 1939. The T97 had too big a resemblance to the KdF-Wagen, the later VW Beetle.
The Tatra T87 was Hans Ledwinka's favourite car. He kept driving his own T87 until he donated it to the Deutsches Museum in Munich in April 1965, where it is still on display.
