Okay, a Dutch buddy of mine sent me a question asking about the Tatra 603 Hemi. More or less, my response was something like, "WTF is a Tatra?" Anyway, thought it was pretty cool! An air-cooled, apparently all aluminum, Hemi V8. European make, and that's about all I know. Are these actually Hemis?? Maybe someone here knows more.... (pictures found on various sites around the web) They apparently make good coffee tables also! The cars... Sort of bizarre looking, but... well... Pretty neat too!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatra_T87 Buncha stuff here. Link to the concept cars piece for more detailed info.
I think if I had one of these I would have to polish the whole damn thing! HAHA! Wonder how much can be done to these engines?? Would be really cool in a single seat, rear engine racer, like the Auto Union cars... Pretty neat!
Not sure about their history in cars, but Tatra is known for making heavy duty, military spec heavy transport trucks. 4x4, 8x8, 10x10, etc... Cool shit! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Epd4WZypvA
Actually, Panky Wilson, who worked as a Porter for the Tucker Motor Co., escaped with the factory blueprints after the summit hearings. He set up a secret underground factory in a basement coffee house in Paris, where, assisted by American beatniks, hammered body panels out over wooden bucks, in fine European fashion. The hemi's origins are vague, but Zora Arkus-Duntov was said to have visited for Espresso...
How can you just find all those pictures in just 5 minutes that took me a few oures? Good tread btw! Does someone know if you can reverse the engine and put it in front?
Yeah, this is a great thread. We should all know a lot more about Tatra--and someone with an engine hoist should buy that man a new coffee table. Something in a Noguchi ... .
Tatra 805 light military truck uses the Tatra 603 engine mounted in a front-single carb, only 75 horsepower. mid-engined racing Tatra 607: racing Tatra 603 engine:
SCOOTER...well 2,5 liters isn't 603 c.i. but it is very interesting. man just when you think you'v seen it all BAM! you catch one in the nut's. and AIR COOLED! man that mill would be perfect for a rail job, well a MINI rail HA!...POP.
Scoot next time I'm at my buddy Rays shop there restoring a teardrop Tatra, he's a VW guy and has a wealth of knowledge on these motors he has a few extra's. The one he is doing is very similar to the pic,, cool thing in the front is a straight axle with a cross over spring.
Hans Ledwinka, designer of the Tatra was a brilliant engineer and provided inspiration (that's spelt p-l-a-g-i-a-r-i-s-m) for Ferdinand Porsche - check out his bio here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Ledwinka
Well scooter, i think i gave Michael (General) the idea, i think he is pretty serious about it. If you find one one in Holland they are less than 500 euros for a complete engine, but not easy to find. I had one for 175 euro but it was used for autocross so not the most ideal engine. Hennie
I think i've seen a VW bug once with a 603 engine in the back... OT, I know, but cool nonetheless... These engines have a very nice sound to them too. Just for the heck of it;
How's this for an obscure coincidence... our car club visited the Tampa Bay Auto museum a couple of years ago on a day cruise. They got a wagon load of them! Gary See http://www.tbauto.org/index.htm PS when you think Tatra, also think Tucker
603 is just the model. Might have even just been the car model number, even. Not sure. Definitely implying it's 603 ci. Hey stranger!!! Where you been hiding!? Yeah, if you learn anything share it with us. Pretty cool stuff!
Aaaaa! So YOU'RE the one giving Michael all the wild ideas! HAHA! Neat-o for sure... Would definitely be thinking outside the box putting one in a hot rod.
I understand that handling was greatly affected depending on how passengers were distributed. Something about Czechs and balances...
My neighbour has a Tatra 603 and I like the sound of the V8! Very similar to a Flathead V8. Here is one cool tatra v8 engine with sound! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcrzFy_6Ra4
Tatra, third oldest automotive manufacturer in the world. Their history is similar to Studabaker in many ways. I like the part of Tatra, during WWII being labeled as the "Czech Secret Weapon" Plagiarized from WIKI; After the 1938 invasion of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany, Tatras continued in production, largely because Germans liked the cars. Many German officers met their deaths driving heavy, rear-engined Tatras faster around corners than they could handle. At the time, as an anecdote, Tatra became known as the 'Czech Secret Weapon' for the scores of officers who died behind the wheel; at one point official orders were issued forbidding German officers from driving Tatras.
I have had an idea in my head that probably never going to happen (like the most of the ideas I have). I´m thinkin T-roadster or Rpu, low an as light as possible with Tatra V8 and nothing in front of the engine.
Jeff Lane, who owns the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, has owned a bunch of Tatras. He ran them a couple times in the Great Race. Someone in the Nashville area might want to pay him a visit to get a few more pictures and learn more about these hemis, since he's got several Tatras in the museum. http://www.lanemotormuseum.org/
Man, did you push a hot button for me! I've been aware of Tatras since around 1952, and have always thought that they were the mutt's nuts. Try this on; this is the original Tatra prototype circa 1934 (called, I think, a T77): This was also a rear-engined air-cooled V8; I don't know how similar the engine was to a 603. Then there were some other zoomy looking models built, maybe called T87 but don't quote me, and I think these were both pre- and post-war: There is a website about them, but I can't find it right now. Jay Leno owns one, and has done one of his little videos about it; a friend of a friend recently had one restored and I got a ride in it last fall. They're nicely made, very quirky, and not very fast, but very very high on the coolness scale. I think the body styles of these two early models are just astounding -- obviously what Batman would have driven if had been a Czech.
So is the engine I posted pictures ACTUALLY a Hemi or was that just someone's definition based on the aesthetics of the engine itself??