The Tatra 97 (T97) is a Czechoslovak

mid-size car Mid-size—also known as intermediate—is a vehicle size class which originated in the United States and is used for cars larger than compact cars and smaller than full-size cars. "Large family car" is a UK term and a part of the D-segment in ...

built by Tatra in Kopřivnice,

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

, from 1936 to 1939.

History

The Tatra 97 was designed to complement two full-size cars in the Tatra range: the

Tatra 77 The Tatra 77 (T77) is one of the first serial-produced, truly aerodynamically-designed automobiles, produced by Czechoslovak company Tatra (company), Tatra from 1934 to 1938. It was developed by Hans Ledwinka and Paul Jaray, the Zeppelin aerodynam ...

launched in 1934 and the Tatra 87 launched in 1936 along with the Type 97. Each of the three models has an air-cooled rear engine and share similar

aerodynamic Aerodynamics () is the study of the motion of atmosphere of Earth, air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dynamics and its subfield of gas dynamics, and is an ...

fastback A fastback is an automotive styling feature, defined by the rear of the car having a single slope from the roof to the tail. The kammback is not a fastback design with a roofline that tapers downward toward the car's rear before being cut of ...

four-door sedan bodies. But whereas types 77 and 87 each have a large V8 engine, Type 97 has a flat-four engine. The Type 97 is distinguished by having two headlights and a one-piece windscreen, whereas the 77 and 87 have three headlights and a three-piece windscreen. The Type 97's flat-four engine displaces 1,759 cc and produces , giving it top speed of . Tatra already had a mid-size car in the same class, the more conventional 1,688 cc

Tatra 75 The Tatra 75 is a Czechoslovak mid-size car that Tatra introduced in 1933 as the successor to the Tatra 54 and was Tatra's last front-engined car. The front-mounted 1,688 cc air-cooled OHV air-cooled boxer engine produces . This gi ...

that it had launched in 1933. Tatra continued to produce the Type 75 alongside the futuristic Type 97. In fact production of the Type 75 outlived that of the Type 97 and continued until 1942. Kopřivnice is in a part of northern Moravia that

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

annexed after the

Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...

in September 1938. Production of the Type 97 was terminated in 1939, possibly to avoid comparison with the KdF-Wagen (see below). Production of the Type 97 was 508 cars in total. In 1946 Tatra resumed car production, and replaced the Type 97 with the larger and more modern Tatra 600 "Tatraplan".

Resemblance to Volkswagen KdF-Wagen

According to some authors, in both streamlined design and technical specifications, especially the engine design and position, the Type 97 has a striking resemblance to Volkswagen's KdF-Wagen. However Tatra 97 itself does not appear original, as it has resemblance to sketches by Hungarian engineer Bela Barenyi, conceived in the 1920s and published in 1934. In any case

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

is reported to have encountered and said of Tatra's cars; "This is the car for my roads". Ferdinand Porsche was accused of using Tatra designs to design the Volkswagen quickly and cheaply. In Porsche's words; "Well, sometimes Ledwinka looked over my shoulder and sometimes I looked over his". Tatra sued Porsche for damages, and Porsche was willing to settle. But Hitler cancelled this, saying he "would settle the matter". Soon after Germany occupied the

Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...

, Tatra stopped production of the Type 97 and the lawsuit was discontinued. After the Second World War Tatra resumed its lawsuit. In 1965 Volkswagen settled it by paying Tatra in compensation.

Gallery (selected)

File:Tatra_T_97_1938_(15221399414).jpg, Company badge File:TatraT97-interior.jpg, Tatra 97 interior File:TatraT97-rear.jpg, Tatra 97 rear quarter view File:TatraT97-engine.jpg, Air-cooled, rear-mounted flat-four engine File:TatraT97-front.jpg, Tatra 97 front File:Tatra 97 Kopřivnice.jpg, Type 97 in the Tatra museum at Kopřivnice

References

Streamlined Tatras * Tatra V570 ''1931, 1933'' *

''1933–38'' * Tatra 87 ''1936–50'' *Tatra 97 ''1936–39'' * Tatra 600 Tatraplan ''1946–52'' * Tatra 603 ''1956–75''

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

{{Tatra models Cars powered by boxer engines Cars introduced in 1936 Rear-engined vehicles Rear-wheel-drive vehicles 97