For Sale: 1940 Tatra T87 in Saint Louis, Missouri

Tatra, based in Moravia, a region today encompassed within the Czech Republic, is one of the oldest continuously operating vehicle manufacturers in the world. Its roots began in the nineteenth century as a wagon builder, and it achieved its greatest commercial success as a builder of railroad cars. Today it survives as a builder of heavy-duty trucks and counts truck-racing success in the Paris-Dakar Rally among its recent achievements. Tatra's long success is in large part attributable to the ingenious designs of Hans Ledwinka. A contemporary of Ferdinand Porsche, Hans Ledwinka's innovative thinking embodied in Tatra automobiles resulted in some of the most creative automobiles of the 20th century. He was an early adherent of simple tubular backbone chassis (similar to the backbone frame Colin Chapman used in the Lotus Elan and Europa decades later), four-wheel independent suspension and air-cooled engines. Tatra persevered through the 20's and 30's with innovative cars, many of them with overhead camshaft engines and hemispherical combustion chambers that led contemporaries by years, if not decades. The 1933 Tatra T V570 was a rear-engine two-cylinder prototype for a lightweight, aerodynamic "people's car". It was seen at the time by Ferdinand Porsche while he was developing the concept for the four-cylinder air-cooled car that would become the Volkswagen. Tatra and Ledwinka with design engineer Erich �belacker went in a different direction from Porsche, developing the T87 into a larger, more powerful car. Powered by a rear-mounted air-cooled overhead camshaft V-8 engine of 2,968cc with 73.7 brake horsepower, the ground-breaking four-door Tatra T87 of 1936 was like nothing else, then or now. Gracefully teardrop-shaped, the rear engine and 4-speed gearbox left generous interior room for occupants. Four-wheel swing axle independent suspension gave it a comfortable ride even over bumpy tracks, and with only about 40% of fully laden weight on the front wheels, steering was nearly effortless, a rapid, responsive Autobahn cruiser with performance that belied its 73.7hp. The streamlined shape's elongated tail above covered rear wheel arches has a prominent central fin for aerodynamic stability and even the door handles were recessed into the bodywork for streamlining. Tatra continued to build the T87 throughout the war, egged on by Dr. Fritz Todt, Inspector General of the Autobahn network, who declared it "the Autobahn car", something few could have doubted seeing the 73.7hp V-8 engined aerodynamic sylph glide by higher horsepower conventional chassis Mercedes-Benz and Horch cars with ease. Tatra was a featured class at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 2014 where this T87 crossed the podium with a third in class award. It was resurrected by its then-owner, an enthusiast who restores old buildings and even villages with a dedication to authenticity. A bit of the original sky-blue color was found during restoration and reproduced, although there is some minor variance in shade among the panels. A snippet of the original upholstery was also found and reproduced including the fine metallic thread woven through it in the superbly restored interior upholstery in light tan pattern cloth with brown carpets. The chrome is uniformly high quality including on the matching Bosch horns on the front bumper. The front Tatra emblem is highlighted by beautiful cloisonne enamel and there is a huge sliding sunroof. Visibility is surprisingly good with the flat windshield flanked by angled front quarter windows giving a wraparound effect. The rear engine gets cool induction air via an airbox fed from louvers on the rear deck. The deck also has visibility louvers that give good rear visibility from the inside rear-view mirror. The lightweight air-cooled V-8 (in this case a replacement T87 engine) gets its cooling air from the large scoops on each side of the rear quarters. Because the interior has no driveshaft tunnel or transmission hump it is surprisingly roomy, particularly the rear seats with a fold down armrest divider. Luggage storage is behind the rear seats and is separated by two windows, one behind the seats and another in front of the engine compartment. The front compartment houses a pair of spare wheels and tires. Behind the gorgeous ivory rim steering wheel with three banjo spokes there are a group of crisply restored ivory face gauges and a large clock in front of the passenger. Innovative thinking and design are visible everywhere on the aerodynamically shaped body from the three-headlights in the front through the recessed door handles and rear wheel spats to the long, tapered tail with its stabilizing adipose fin. Aside from having four wheels and a V-8 engine there is little conventional thinking even today - but certainly in 1936 - about the Tatra T87 and this example has been carefully and thoughtfully restored and displayed at Pebble Beach. Its sky-blue color reflects its blue sky thinking, an imaginative and original clean sheet of paper design that is visually and technically distinctive as well as being extremely rare. Offers welcome and trades considered For additional details please view this listing directly on our website https://hymanltd.com/vehicles/7641-1940-tatra-t87/