1943 German Tatra Type 87 Owners Manual

According to common mythology, the Tatra T87 was so dangerous and killed so many German officers that Adolf Hitler himself banned his officers from driving them. Yet, despite this terrible reputation, the Germans never cancelled production of this certified 'Nazi killer', which remained on sale right through the entire war. It's important to note just how significant this fact is. Under the state of emergency declared in 1940 ALL passenger car production in German was stopped. A few companies continued to trickle out production of cheap cars, such as the wood-bodied DKW F8, until 1942, but after that point, all production stopped and Germany moved to a Total War economy. Two companies escaped this ban - Mercedes-Benz and Tatra. And what sort of cars did Mercedes-Benz and Tatra manufacture? Luxury vehicles for the elite.

I don't want to belabour the point, but the mythical Nazi killing Tatra story is a total fabrication. This German owners manual from 1943 warns the owner that their car is very fast - deceptively so - and one must be alert to maintaining appropriate stopping distance. This is good advice for any driver in the 1940s - and also today. There is no warning about handling, sharp turns, roll-overs, etc, because there was no 'shocking death toll' in the officer class. It did not happen


"With the Type 87, the Ringhoffer-Tatra-Werke A.G. is placing a car in your hands that can reach a speed of 150-160 km/h. Not so many years ago this was a record speed for automobiles and in normal highway motoring for a touring car — for the non-professional driver — it is very remarkable performance. Driving in the streamlined rear-engined Tatra is so secure and comfortable, and thanks to its wind-cheating shape so smooth and quiet, that only a glance at the speedometer will show that you are traveling much faster than you thought. So, even with exceptional road-holding and first-class braking, remember to be constantly aware that you are driving a very fast car whose braking distance at 160 km/h is two and a half times as long as at 100 km/h. Therefore drive carefully and with the greatest alertness at all times!"

1940 German Tatra Type 87 Advertisement

The Tatra works do not try to overcome air resistance with brutal engine force, but give their vehicle the optimum shape which smoothly separates the airstream around the smooth surface of the car, leaving no vortex of air turbulence behind it. The car's excellent performance is also based on balancing the weight of the car to a reasonable ratio for its engineering. Wherever possible, light metals are used. Each part of this car is made of the best material, which is careful selected before it is installed. Therefore, assuring the proverbial robustness and long life of Tatra cars.

Due to the incorporation of the headlights and footboards within the envelope of the body, the interior includes areas that are normally outside, thereby offering five adult persons comfortably space. The supply of fresh air into the vehicle takes place without disturbing the airflow in a new, convenient way.

The motor is an air-cooled eight-cylinder gasoline engine whose single cylinder are closed in 2 rows of 4 cylinders in V-shape at an angle of 90. Each cylinder series is cooled by a fan each; The control of the hanging valves (OHV) takes place for each cylinder series with separate camshaft.

Ledwinka after Tatra - Victoria 250 Spatz

Tatra Deputy Director and architect of the company's revolutionary rear-engine streamliners, Hans Ledwinka, was persona non-grata at the end of the Second World War. Being an ethnic German speaker who managed an important military plant during the war, Ledwinka was arrested in June 1945 immediately after the liberation of Czechoslovakia by the Soviets, and charged as a collaborator. He would serve six years detention with hard labour. From his prison cell, he consulted with Tatra engineers on the design of the T600 Tatraplan. Upon his release in 1951 he was offered the managing directorship of Tatra, now a state owned enterprise, but he turned down the offer and retired to Austria.

That could have been it for the 73 year old engineer, but it wasn't to be. His technical expertise was such that many companies sought him out as a consulting engineer. One such project was the Spatz 250 microcar for the Victoriawerke of Nuremberg. But before we talk about Ledwinka, we need to meet another engineer, Egon Brutsch.

Egon Brutsch was prolific but largely unsuccessful microcar designer and fibreglass pioneer, designing and building eleven different models between 1952 and 1958. Brutsch's designs were based around a self supporting fibreglass body powered by a small, single cylinder two-stroke engine of approximately 200cc.

In 1954, Brutsch developed the space-age looking, three-wheeled Avolette microcar (posing above with his daughters). The Avolette seated three passengers on a bench seat. The body shell was constructed of an upper and lower fibreglass shell glued together along the mid-line. A rubber strip concealed the seam. The car was powered by a 191cc single cylinder Sachs motor with drive transmitted through a four speed gearbox. Brutsch manufactured about five examples, which he used as demonstrators in the hope of licensing production.

One of those who picked up a license to build the Avolette was the Victoria-werkes of Nuremburg. Victoria was founded as a bicycle maker in 1886. In 1901 they began manufacturing motorcycles. The company survived the war and continued building high quality motorcycles, but in the straitened circumstances of post war Germany, they lost money on every motorcycle they sold. The mid-1950s witnessed a boom in microcars in Europe. Just about anything that had more than two wheels and offered more comfort than a scooter found a market. The directors of Victoria hoped that the Avolette, powered by their own engines, would allow them to quickly capitalize on this market. Unfortunately, after building their own pre-production prototype and putting it through driving trials, they realized the Avolette was nowhere near production ready. To simplify construction and minimize weigh, Brutsch had not given the Avolette a chassis. All the driving components, suspension, axles, and engine were simply screwed into the fibreglass shell. Under stress, the fibreglass quickly cracked and the vehicle's structure was completely compromised.

Victoria engaged the now 76 year old Ledwinka to improve the design. Ledwinka was not impressed with the Avolette and basically threw out the entire design and started again from scratch. Ledwinka incorporated his trademark central tube frame chassis, added four wheels and steel bracing to support the fibreglass body.

The car received an entirely new body, that was less space-age, but simpler to build. Performance and handling was significantly improved. Victoria's directors were extremely pleased with the result and the new car was offered for sale in 1956 as the Victoria 250 'Spatz' (Sparrow). Hans Ledwinka (far right below) presents the car to the board of directors.

Less pleased was Egon Brutsch. Having been forced to completely redesign the Avolette, Victoria cancelled their contract with Brutsch. Brutsch took them to court but the court found in Victoria's favour and were extremely critical of Brutsch's unsafe design.

The Spatz proved not to be the success that Victoria hoped. In practice, ventilation of the engine bay was limited and the resulting build up of heat led to spontaneous fires. The fibreglass body was also a weak point, cracking and breaking around the entry and windscreen frame. 729 examples were built before the company went bankrupt in 1958 and the Spatz was cancelled. Despite Victoria's bankruptcy, the company survived by merging with DKW's motorcycle division, which Auto-Union had been forced to sell by their majority stockholder, Mercedes-Benz, and Express. The new conglomerate became Zweirad-Union.




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