The Tatra 80 is a

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) ** Fourth Czechoslovak Repu ...

luxury Luxury may refer to: *Luxury goods, an economic good or service for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises *Luxury tax, a tax on products not considered essential, such as speedboats or diamonds. **Luxury tax (sports), a ...

full-size car Full-size car—also known as large car—is a vehicle size class which originated in the United States and is used for cars larger than mid-size cars. It is the largest size class for cars. In the United Kingdom, this class is referred to as ...

built by Tatra between 1931 and 1935.

History

Hans Ledwinka Hans Ledwinka (14 February 1878 – 2 March 1967) was an Austrian automobile designer. Youth Ledwinka was born in Klosterneuburg (Lower Austria), near Vienna, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He started his career as a mechanic, a ...

designed the car in 1930. It was launched in 1931, the same year as the

Tatra 70 The Tatra 70 is a Czechoslovak luxury car that was made by Tatra at Kopřivnice from 1931 to 1937. It succeeded the Tatra 31. Tatra 70 The model was launched in 1931, the same year as the Tatra 80, and the two models have the same backbone c ...

, and the two models have the same

backbone chassis Backbone tube chassis is a type of automobile construction chassis that is similar to the body-on-frame design. Instead of a two-dimensional Vehicle frame#Ladder Frame, ladder-type structure, it consists of a strong tubular backbone (usually re ...

and

swing axle A swing axle is a simple type of independent suspension designed and patented by Edmund Rumpler in 1903 for the rear axle of rear wheel drive vehicles. This was a revolutionary invention in automotive suspension, allowing driven (powered) whee ...

suspension. The brakes are by ATE- Lockheed. The Type 80 has

wire wheel Wire wheels, wire-spoked wheels, tension-spoked wheels, or "suspension" wheels are wheels whose rims connect to their hubs by wire spokes. Although these wires are considerably stiffer than a similar diameter wire rope, they function mechani ...

s, whereas the Type 70 has disc wheels. But the underlying difference is the engine. The Type 70 was built with a 3,406 cc six-cylinder

OHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine in which the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustio ...

engine, but the Type 80 was given a 5,990 cc, 65-degree V-12 with horizontal valves operated directly by a top camshaft mounted at the level of the cylinder heads. The engine produces , giving the car a top speed of . Tatra 80 3

Tatra supplied the bare rolling chassis, engine and transmission. Customers chose a body style and which coachbuilding company would build it. Four-door sedans, cabriolets and six-seat limousines were built. There is at least one example of a two-door, four-seat convertible.

Sodomka Sodomka was a Czech coachbuilding company founded in 1895. They bodied cars and buses from various Czech companies (Aero, Laurin & Klement, Praga, Škoda, Tatra, Walter), as well as foreign cars (e.g. Bugatti, Ford, Graham, Lancia, Nash, Rol ...

Vysoké Mýto Vysoké Mýto (; , also ''Hohenmauth'') is a town in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 13,000 inhabitants. Its town square is the largest example of its type in the country. The historic town ...

built bodies for several Type 80 cars. The Type 80 was Tatra's most luxurious and expensive car, priced at

Kčs The Czechoslovak koruna (in Czech and Slovak: ''koruna československá'', at times ''koruna česko-slovenská''; ''koruna'' means ''crown'') was the currency of Czechoslovakia from 10 April 1919 to 14 March 1939, and from 1 November 1945 to 7 ...

195,000 to 200,000. Tatra built 22 Type 80 cars between 1931 and 1935.

Presidential landaulet

In 1935 a unique Tatra 80 landaulet was built as the official state car of

Czechoslovak President The president of Czechoslovakia (, ) was the head of state of Czechoslovakia, from the creation of the First Czechoslovak Republic in 1918 until the dissolution of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic on 1 January 1993. In periods when t ...

TG Masaryk. On 18 April 2005 it was presented to the National Technical Museum in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. On 29 September 2005 the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

declared that a set of five historic cars, including the Presidential landaulet, to be a national cultural monument.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Authority control Automobiles with backbone chassis Cars introduced in 1931 Rear-wheel-drive vehicles 80 Luxury vehicles