History has been cruel to any number of cars, and even carmakers, but the story of Tatra and the T87 might bring a tear to the eyes of some enthusiasts. Tatra was a Czechoslovak company from the days when that was a thing. It is mostly famous for making the V570, the car Ferdinand Porsche is said to have ripped off for the design of the Volkswagen Beetle. A lawsuit from Tatra over the design was only stopped by the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia. But it was the T87 that was Tatra’s real masterpiece. Far from being a “people’s car,” the T87 was a marvel of design and technology at the time.
WWII was obviously hugely disruptive to a lot more than just the automotive industry, but it was ultimately also the reason why so few T87s were ever made. The car has never really managed to break out of the near-obscurity it was born into in 1936. It was produced after the war, all the way up until 1950, but it never really took off in terms of sales. But one showed up at Pebble Beach this year, and that’s always a good enough reason to sing its praises once again.
Continue reading for my full review of the Tatra T87.
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