1931 Tatra T80

Ignatz Schustala and Co was originally founded as a carriage maker in 1850. They specialised in luxury carriages for the wealthy. In 1890, after Schustala's death, the company was renamed Nesseldorfer and expanded into railway rolling stock. They retained their reputation as a luxury builder, manufacturing and fitting out the carriages for the Simplon-Orient Express line as well as private carriages for Austro-Hungarian royalty and elites. After the company moved into automobile manufacture (as a sideline to their primary rolling stock business), they continued to target the wealthy elite. The Nesseldorfer cars were huge, luxury affairs sold in very small numbers to the very rich.

When Hans Ledwinka introduced the rugged, budget Tatra T11 in 1923, it led to a wholesale redesigning of the company's luxury car range. The heavy chassis rails used in the big Nesseldorfer's was replaced with the Ledwinka's trademark central tube chassis and independent suspension, and in 1931, Tatra's the big, front-engined luxury car models hit the market. Two big Tatra models were revealed - the T70 with a 3.4 litre six cylinder inline engine and the T80, with a 5.9 litre V12.

The T80 was Tatra's flagship model, affordable only to the very elite. One car was built for the president of Czechoslovakia, which is now in the Prague Technology Museum designated as a national treasure (there are four Tatra's so designated in the museum). Another was ordered by the Ringhoffer family, who would go on to purchase Tatra in 1935. In total only 22 of these luxury cars were ever built. After the Tatra T77 was debuted in 1934, interest in the conventional T70 and T80 waned and production ceased in 1935.

Translation:

"AUTOMOBILISM is undeniably responsible for the growth of tourism. Nowadays it is always on the agenda that holiday trips are made by car - and above all, it is the mountains that motorists visit the most, because only by driving by car allows one to fully enjoy all their natural beauty. Although the high mountains are so abundantly visible, they are much fewer accessible ones when you travel by train.

However, for long journeys and for overcoming big climbs, you need a truck that meets all the demands placed on it: fast, strong enough and comfortable. All these features are perfectly combined in the car that Zavody TATRA brings to the market as its latest model, with the new luxurious two-wheel drive. The strong and flexible engine allows the car to overcome almost all hills.

For direct engagement, the frameless chassis with fully adjustable semi-axles and springs guarantee the car a smooth ride even on rough roads. Today, the generally appreciated and recognized advantages of the TATRA car: absolute road holding, stability in corners, resistance to skidding, etc., have been improved and brought to the highest possible level on this new two-wheel drive car.

The TATRA factories have been building cars for almost 35 years, without starting mass production. The buyer now has a full guarantee that with the new [model] he gets a perfectly designed vehicle, concentrating the fruits of many years of experience. The TATRA two-wheel drive is equipped with all the modern conveniences of the automotive industry, and of course the bodywork is designed and laid out in such a way that even the most experienced driver will be comfortable even on long journeys.

The chassis of this car also has the great advantage that, without any changes, instead of a two-cylinder engine [a reference to the revolutionary Tatra 11], a [more] powerful engine can also be installed."

The new 12-cylinder TATRA at the Paris car show.

"When introduced, you will not need a dictionary to express your admiration.

Frameless chassis with supporting central tube. All 4 semi-axles are swingable and completely independent of each other. Steering with 2 separate connecting rods. Hydraulic brakes.

Thanks to the reports in the French magazines, Zävody Tatra's stand received exceptional attention as this year it was the only Czechoslovak company to participate in the Paris Motor Show.

L'intransigeant on 8. October writes:
"During his visit to the auto show, the President of the Republic stayed for a long time at stand 20, where Tatra, a well-known Czechoslovak factory, exhibits all its latest models. He was very interested in the new twelve-cylinder chassis with swinging semi-axles and heartily congratulated the directors of this famous company for both the technical sophistication and the design of the exhibited cars."

L'Oeuvre on 7 October:
"As we have already reported, Mr. Doumerge also stayed at the booth of several foreign companies, of which we cite two that interested him the most: Mercedes..... and Tatra, a large Czechoslovakian company headquartered in Prague which exhibited at the Grand Palais this year.

The large model exhibited on stand 20 was rated 40 CV (editor's note: according to our designation 23/100 KS) and its characteristic features are the following: instead of a deformable frame, a completely torsion resistant medium bearing tube. All 4 semi-corrections are swingable and operate independently. The chassis is equipped with steering with two separate connecting rods and has hydraulic brakes. The weight of the complete chassis does not exceed 1200 kg. It's the car of the future.

It should be noted that a passenger car with an air-cooled engine, owned by Mme Junko, a famous sportswoman who triumphed in so many great European races, is on display at the stand.

The unique design of this car aroused the keen interest of M. Doumerge, who warmly congratulated the representatives of the TATRA company."

The success of the TATRA plant is equal to the success of our domestic industry, but in this difficult test on the international forum, namely in France, the cradle of motoring, it passed with such a road ambassador."