Tatra T77 at the 1935 RAC Endersley Rally

After making its sensational debut on the 1934 exhibition circuit, 1935 saw the Tatra T77 participating in rallies all across Europe. In March 1935 the car debuted at the 4th annual RAC Endersley Rally. Three Tatras had been imported by the sole British concessionary, Captain Douglas Fitzmaurice, a First World War pilot and automobile enthusiast. Probably due to his flying experience, Fitzmaurice was keenly interested in streamlining and closely followed developments on the continent. In 1932 he bodied a Singer sedan with streamlined bodywork which went on to be sold under the name Singer Airstream. The car bore a striking resemblance to the Chrysler car of the same name.

The Singer Airstream. Buyers could opt to have this custom streamlining fitted to their car.

In 1933 he began his association with Tatra, purchasing an exclusive import license for Tatra vehicles in Britain. At the 1933 London Automobile Exhibition he unveiled a Tatra T75 with custom-designed and built streamlined bodywork. The car was quite stunning but there were no takers and the vehicle remained a unique one-off. Despite having the 'engine in the right place', motoring journalists appeared puzzled by the Tatra's air-cooled flat-four engine. Fitzmaurice continued to build streamlined custom bodies for private clients and even patented several streamlined designs throughout the 1930s. It is clear from the designs he was aware of Paul Jaray's work.



The first Tatra T77s arrived in England in early 1935. Fitzmaurice retained one as his personal car and his letter to the factory reporting on its handling and performance should be better known as it undercuts the usual dross written about Tatra handling by people who don't know what they're talking about.



One of the Tatras competed in the March 1935 RAC Endersley rally driven by CW Neville and Commander Montague Graham White. The car drew the interest of the motoring press who marveled at its novel features.

"The Thirty MPH Bogey
Motorists Arrive And Leave Torquay
Mayor’s Broadcast Speech

Torquay is still making history in the motoring world. The R.A.C Endersley Rally commenced yesterday…… the first time “the Queen of the ….. was a starting point. Thirty three competitors were listed to start and it says much for the enthusiasm among entrants that the 32 left the town right on the minute for the 1,000 mile drive to the final rallying point.

The array of cars was quite imposing, ranging from a couple of new Rolls-Royce Bentleys to a cluster of the popular small sports cars, but one of the most interesting, in my opinion, was a very special Tatra, driven by C.W. Neville. This was the only car of its type in England and only some fifty or so have been seen on the Continent, and as yet detailed specification is rather meagre.

REAR ENGINE.
The most striking thing at first glance was the lines of the body. It was designed by Capt. D. Fitzmaurice, who was responsible for the coachwork of the Singer Airstream, and in appearance was as near as possible cigar-shaped. Then came the fact that the engine was at the rear after the recent Tatra development. The unit itself was an eight-cylinder V type, but what was most unusual from the English point of view, it was air cooled.

The question immediately springs to mind ‘air cooled at the rear?’ But this apparent “problem” had been dealt with in a very neat and efficient manner. The unbroken line from the front dumb irons swept up over the screen to curve down to the tail in the usual streamline fashion (only considerably lower than we have been in the habit of seeing) but on the top, just beyond the back upright of the rear windows, a cowling stood off from the roof, leaving a space of some eight inches that formed a perfect wind trap, the air being carried down over large oil radiators and purifyers, on to the engine itself. The sump held two gallons of oil and undoubtedly much of the cooling came from this department.

As with a number of other Continental designs there was no chassis in the accepted meaning of the phrase, the bottom of the body being one very strong sheet of special metal. The advantages were at once apparent in the Tatra in that eight persons could be seated well within the wheelbase and at an unusually low level at that. The front space under the dummy bonnet was used to house a spare wheel, tools and luggage.

WRITE YOUR LETTERS.
It was informed by the driver of the car that with the 28 horse power motor with which it was fitted, the car could do 100 miles an hour as it stood and the acceleration and road-holding were almost unbelievable. He said that the design itself was complete and efficient, that it was possible to write a letter in either the front or rear seats with the greatest of ease.

It shall be very interested to see how the Tatra will fare in the Rally. It certainly should come up well on the list of the concours d’elegance competition."

The unknown author of the piece has made several errors in his reporting, incorrectly stating that Captain Fitzmaurice was involved in the design of the streamlined body. He has most certainly mixed up Fitzmaurice's streamlined bodywork on the Tatra T75 (four-cylinder front-engine) from 1933 with the Tatra T77. He has however captured a number of key points about the car's performance. He correctly observes that the car's engine, despite being a 3.5 litre V8, only puts out a meagre 28 horsepower (English tax calculation) but the car easily reaches 100 miles per hour. These were exceptional speeds for such a lower powered engine and are due to the car's highly efficient streamlining. He also praises that car's road-holding as "almost unbelievable" - a claim that British motoring journalists would invert a little over a decade later. The reason the rear-engined Tatras exhibited such good road holding is noted only in passing - the car sat "unusually" low to the ground, making them an extremely stable driving platform.

So how did the Tatra perform in the rally? Unfortunately the article doesn't tell us. But the interest stirred by the Tatra's appearance had motoring journalists beating a path to Captain Fitzmaurice's door for a test drive and review of this extraordinary machine. These reports were generally favorable to the car and its excellent handling is always noted, but there is always a sense in these reports that the author's found the car just too unorthodox for their tastes. As the reviewer for 'The Autocar' noted, "This year, Next year, Probably not, in any great numbers, for Motorists in this country."
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