1934 Motor-Kritik Berlin Motor Show Report on the Tatra T77

The Tatra T77 at the 1934 Berlin International Motor Show

"The foreign countries were keen to present the impression that they preceded us in technical design. For example, the prospectus of Tatrawerkes suggests that they are responsible for bringing us the car of the future, that is, the streamline car with rear engine. For this purpose, however, it was necessary [for them] to ignore the German precursors. Neither the Standard Superior nor the Hansa 400, which were revealed one year ago at the Kaiserdamm received a mention, and the Stuttgarter may readily see the Mercedes Benz 130 and Porsche experimental cars, whose construction and appearance we have previously described, remarkably resembled the new Tatra 77. Tatra would have been wise to have recognized these precedents in their prospectus."

"The Tatra Model 77 which was shown for the first time at the Berlin International Motor Show is in different size class to the aforementioned models. Our opinion is presented after only a brief review of the car’s features. The Tatra uses a partially self-supporting chamber body [fitted] over a steel tube chassis. Apparently only for increasing torsional rigidity and to serve as a connecting member, a medium sized carrier [cross-member] is installed. The front-wheels are suspended via a parallelogram and rack and pinion steering is used, while at the rear end, the middle carrier engages from the rear to the tailgate on three cross-members. The rear mounted drive unit consists of a Rumpler-deselectric pendulum gear selector gearbox with front-mounted four-speed transmission with freewheel. The V-eight-cylinder three-litre motor has angular lever-controlled hanging valves and air cooling. Forced air cooling takes place for each bank of cylinders by a separate blower driven by V-belt. The arrangement makes the use of large diameter flywheels superfluous, which benefits the ground clearance and allows the entire engine to be low slung."

"The Tatra 77 is a huge car. The location of the large, but particularly lightweight motor, behind the axles should not exercise noticeably harmful influences on the driving characteristics. Seating is for six people on two benches. The driver's position is located in the middle and slightly ahead of the front passengers. The luggage compartment is located above the rear suspension rail, separated by a curtain. In operation, the car is noisy as a result of the rear engine arrangement. The streamlined design of the car body assists in reducing wind resistance when traveling at the speed. According to a trusted driver on the AVUS, the gasoline consumption of 13 litres per 100 km at an average highway speed on the 168 km test drive Wroclaw to Berlin at an average speed of 85-90 km! However, this is not a glowing performance although the car is pretty good. Even more could be achieved with further development."

Original article is here - https://motor-kritik.blogspot.com/2021/04/1934-motor-kritik-nr-6.html

Rumpler Tropfenwagen brochure and specifications - https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2021/11/1921-rumpler-tropfenwagen-streamline.html