TATRA 77 – year 1935

Manufacturer: Koprivnica road, joint-stock company, Koprivnica, Czechoslovakia.

The efforts of designers to build a car with more power, while maintaining low fuel consumption, set a new direction in the development of cars. One of them were also aerodynamic bodies. At the International Automobile Show in Berlin in 1934 r. presented 4 carts, about which can be said, that pioneered the development of streamlined cars. They were models: Tatra 77, Chrysler-Airflow, Steyer 32 PS and one-year DKW. Each of the developers of these models solved the technical problem of aerodynamics differently.

Tatry prototype 77, which is the first mass-produced car with a streamlined body, had an air-cooled 8-cylinder V-engine, located at the rear of the vehicle. The engine was easily accessible by lifting the webbed bonnet. The gearbox was moved in front of the rear axle, this solution is also used today in almost all rear-engined cars. The frame consisted of a box-type central load-bearing element, on the crossbars which was attached a streamlined body of an excellent shape, using the full width of the car. As a result, three people could sit side by side in the front and rear seats. The exhibited prototype had a centrally located steering mechanism, and the seats next to the driver were set back a little, so that they do not interfere with the wheel arches. Behind the rear seat, between the gearbox, There was a large luggage space with the clutch and drive of the oscillating driveshafts. The spare wheel and battery were located between the front wheels.

Tatra has demonstrated her model 77, that the production of an air-cooled engine was no longer a technical problem. With the diameter of the cylinders 75 mm and piston stroke 84 mm 3-liter engine developed power 44,1 kW (60 KM) by 3500 RPM, which was enough to achieve 145 km/h. After the first series, counting 100 pieces, released in 1934 r "to increase the acceleration, the diameter of the cylinders was increased to 80 mm, so that the capacity increased to 3,4 liter, and power to 53 kW (72 KM). In years 1935 — 1937 more were produced 150 copies.