To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION WITHOUT RESERVE at RM Sothebys' The
Elkhart Collection event, 23 - 24 October 2020.
Estimate:
$300,000 - $400,000
- An innovative and technically fascinating streamliner
- Late-production example with a 2.5-liter 603 engine and factory
sunroof
- Beautifully restored and presented; one of the nicest
available
Chances are that if a designer had submitted the design of this car
to an American manufacturer in the mid-1930s, he would have been
promptly sent home and asked to rest. Fortunately for Hans
Ledwinka, he was employed by Tatra, Czechoslovakia's most prominent
car manufacturer, which let the genius make his own path and break
the mold in the process.
Introduced in 1936, the T87 was the end result of a design that
Ledwinka had begun developing in the early 1920s. It featured an
incredibly streamlined body built using full monocoque construction
on a relatively short chassis with swing-axle suspension, carrying
a rear-mounted, air-cooled, magnesium alloy V-8 with hemispherical
combustion chambers and a single overhead camshaft per cylinder
bank. The result was sturdy, quiet, spacious, and comfortable, and
a fine high-speed cruiser that could run up to 100 mph. There was
nothing else like it being built anywhere else in the world in the
late 1930s.
With brief suspension for World War II in 1943 and 1944, production
of the T87 continued through 1950. For decades the design remained
"under the radar," particularly since most of the surviving cars
wound up stuck behind the Iron Curtain. Now the model is fully
beginning to achieve the great fame and ovation it deserves as an
avant-garde pioneer of advanced engineering and design, and T87s
have even been featured in several art museums.
The Tatra shown here is a late-production model and features a
larger, more powerful 2.5-liter V-8 of the specification used in
the successor T603 model; it is surmised that this may have been a
factory "interim" installation. The car was discovered in Slovakia
in 2000 and later imported to Australia by an enthusiast who
commissioned a concours-quality restoration by Sleeping Beauties of
Brisbane, Queensland. The Tatra is beautifully finished throughout
and remains in virtually show-ready condition.
This is one of the most interesting automobiles in this collection,
and to drive it or ride in it on a modern American road is a
thrilling experience. The noise and heat of the engine are all
behind you, and the solidity of the body is remarkably impressive.
It feels and drives like a much more modern automobile-such was
Hans Ledwinka's genius, whose designs are now increasingly
recognized for all to admire.To view this car and others currently
consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at
rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/el20.