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Tatra
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Tatra CEO Plans To Make Retro-Styled Machines
We all thought the Tatra-based Faurecio design study was pretty cool, but what about the real thing? Tatra is still in business, but these days they make only big trucks. However, our Corvette-importin', Tatra 603 road-testin' friend in the Czech Republic, BobAsh, informs us that car freaks in the CR are in a frenzy over a recent announcement by Tatra's CEO that they plan to start building a few historic Tatra models on modern drivetrains. Make the jump to get BobAsh's take on the whole business. More »
german christmas
Dieter Lets Us Peek Behind the Barn Door
A man like Dieter is never content with just one barn full of cars and tools and gadgets. Less than a kilometer away from his shop, Dieter has his treasure barn. From the road it's so unassuming that you'd never know it could contain an 850Ci and a 440 Duster. In addition to those, there's at least an ancient Tatra, a pumped up BMW 2002, the skeletal (and really cool) remains of an Opel Speedster and a rack of about 50 various hoods for some reason. This is also where Dieter keeps the molds for a BMW M1 that's he's recreating. Oh yeah, that wooden frame upside down on the red car, that's the body frame for the BMW 328 we told you about earlier. This level of chaos in our own garage would drive us bonkers, but damn, this place is awesome.
news
Old Media Discovers The Loverman!
As Los Jalops toil away, feeding our content into this series of tubes, we sometimes feel neglected by the ink-stained wretches who, like, do newspapers. But no more! First Señor Bumbeck makes the Los Angeles Times, and now Herr Loverman, our resident Tatra Faurecia expert, is getting quoted in the Holland (Michigan) Sentinel! [Holland Sentinel]
commenter of the day
Commenter of the Day: French Tatra > LA Auto Show Edition
Crazy, we know it, but at a massive international auto show where the biggest true reveals are a Dodge crossover and hybrid pickup trucks, it becomes possible for a 35-year-old French/Czech mashup to steal our heart. And judging by your comments, the same goes for you all. Of course, this shared sentiment got us thinking. How could this be? How could a design study blow our collective minds farther than a $1.4 million carbon-fiber Lamborghini? I mean, the Faurecia doesn't even have an engine, let alone performance numbers. Oh, and as the Faurecia is indeed motor-less, we're going to go ahead and name it out green car of the year. Shake a carbon footprint at that, you dirty old hybrids. Anyhow, the reason why the Faurecia is so head slappin' after you jump. More »
la auto show
Who do we love? Faurecia! Why do we love them? Because they are French and they took a 1972 Tatra, gutted the innards, ripped the engine out of the butt and created one of the most striking vehicles here at the LA Auto Show. Both inside and out. And of course, Davey and I are convinced that Faurecia's been listening in on our phone calls. Yesterday we snapped some exterior shots of their design study which were very nice indeed. However, the fine folks at Faurecia handed us a press kit with even better photos of the outside, and some really excellent glimpses on the triple-svelte interior. Seriously, the front door inserts and the seat backs are made from white oak. Real white oak, the kind you age burgundy in. And a press release after the jump.
More »
LA Auto Show: Faurecia Press Kit
Who do we love? Faurecia! Why do we love them? Because they are French and they took a 1972 Tatra, gutted the innards, ripped the engine out of the butt and created one of the most striking vehicles here at the LA Auto Show. Both inside and out. And of course, Davey and I are convinced that Faurecia's been listening in on our phone calls. Yesterday we snapped some exterior shots of their design study which were very nice indeed. However, the fine folks at Faurecia handed us a press kit with even better photos of the outside, and some really excellent glimpses on the triple-svelte interior. Seriously, the front door inserts and the seat backs are made from white oak. Real white oak, the kind you age burgundy in. And a press release after the jump.More »
la auto show
Cars like this make me stop and think. I mean, either Jalopnik is sending out strange vibrations, or there are other people in the world who think the only thing better than a Czech-built Tatra is a French-built one. Well, here's the rub — it's not actually a production vehicle. The Faurecia is a design study. And here's the odd part, and it's going to upset you, but only at first. The engine ain't in the trunk no more. I know, I know, sacrilege. However, there is method to this seeming madness. The rear seats fold down and the trunk extends out. Super Franco-Czech storage possibilities! More later on the tres-nifty interior, but this blasphemous sucker is one of the very best looking cars at the show. OK, we're off to cover the new FWD Ferrari minivan. Au revoir!
LA Auto Show: A French Tatra called Faurecia
Cars like this make me stop and think. I mean, either Jalopnik is sending out strange vibrations, or there are other people in the world who think the only thing better than a Czech-built Tatra is a French-built one. Well, here's the rub — it's not actually a production vehicle. The Faurecia is a design study. And here's the odd part, and it's going to upset you, but only at first. The engine ain't in the trunk no more. I know, I know, sacrilege. However, there is method to this seeming madness. The rear seats fold down and the trunk extends out. Super Franco-Czech storage possibilities! More later on the tres-nifty interior, but this blasphemous sucker is one of the very best looking cars at the show. OK, we're off to cover the new FWD Ferrari minivan. Au revoir!
engine swap
Engine Swap of the Day: Tatra and Audi V8s In Škoda Felicia
I've been making inquiries of our Czech friend BobAsh about the possibility of obtaining a Tatra V8 and transaxle from his homeland, thinking it might be fun to do a Tatra-engined VW Squareback as my personal Hell Project. He suggested I check out what some Czech madman did with a late-50s Škoda Felicia: first, a DOHC Tatra 613 V8 in the rear (and this was originally a front-engined car)... but that just wasn't insane enough. Now it's packing an Audi 4.2 with what appears to be eight Mikuni carbs. The article is in Czech, but you get the idea. [FeliciaCentrum.cz]
road test
Apparently, it wasn't enough for our Coronet 440-drivin' Czech friend BobAsh to tip us off about some vintage Tatra hoonage or help us out with a Czech Project Car Hell. Now he's gone and found a beautifully restored, Communist-bureaucrat-spec '65 Tatra 603 sedan, shot a ton of quality photographs, and then road-tested it for us. Make the jump to get the whole story in BobAsh's own words.
More »
BobAsh Road Tests the 1965 Tatra 603
Apparently, it wasn't enough for our Coronet 440-drivin' Czech friend BobAsh to tip us off about some vintage Tatra hoonage or help us out with a Czech Project Car Hell. Now he's gone and found a beautifully restored, Communist-bureaucrat-spec '65 Tatra 603 sedan, shot a ton of quality photographs, and then road-tested it for us. Make the jump to get the whole story in BobAsh's own words.More »
tatra
Tatra-Land USA!
Since several of Los Jalopniks are now frantically scouring all potential North American Tatra sources in hopes of obtaining a fixer-upper example of our favorite air-cooled V8 Czech car, it was inevitable that we'd stumble across Dr. Nick's "Tatraplan" site. Sadly, all it has accomplished is to make us realize that the only way to get an affordable Tatra is to go east. Way east. I tell you what, the ones with the dorsal fins are the best! [Cement Horizon]
choose your eternity
We've received some great tips for Project Car Hell, but tipster Bobash takes it to a whole new level with these finds. After watching the excellent Czech-hoonage Tatra promotional film, Happy Journeys, he found both a Tatra 603 and a cop-style Skoda 1201. Not only that, he did the translation, provided all the historical background, and even saved our lazy asses a bunch of work by providing a bunch of writing in Jalopnik-approved PCH style. Thanks, Bobash- you're first in line for one of the groo-oovy PCH tipster prizes we keep promising to provide! So hop on the first flight to Prague, ye of eternal vehicular torment, and get ready to wake up as a giant cockroach with a wrench in each of your six hands, because we're entering Kafka territory with these cars.
More »
Project Car Hell, Czech Edition: Tatra or Skoda?
We've received some great tips for Project Car Hell, but tipster Bobash takes it to a whole new level with these finds. After watching the excellent Czech-hoonage Tatra promotional film, Happy Journeys, he found both a Tatra 603 and a cop-style Skoda 1201. Not only that, he did the translation, provided all the historical background, and even saved our lazy asses a bunch of work by providing a bunch of writing in Jalopnik-approved PCH style. Thanks, Bobash- you're first in line for one of the groo-oovy PCH tipster prizes we keep promising to provide! So hop on the first flight to Prague, ye of eternal vehicular torment, and get ready to wake up as a giant cockroach with a wrench in each of your six hands, because we're entering Kafka territory with these cars.More »
tatra
Engine Geeks, Worship At The Tatra Altar!
An air-cooled hemi-head V8 is always worthy of our drool, and we've dug up a video of a stand-mounted Tatra 603 V8 in captivity. Check out the compact size and that ingenious cooling-fan design. Hey, how about one of these in a Skoda?
classic ad watch
Vintage Tatra 603 Hoonage!
So when you're driving behind the Iron Curtain with an air-cooled V8 mounted in the rear, what do you do? Why, you hoon it up, of course! You get sideways on the highway, blast through charming little towns at maniacal speeds, get airborne going over hilltops, and then do some off-roading, all with Johnny Law on your ass! This early-60s Czech film, apparently done as some sort of Tatra promotion, comes to us thanks to a tip from Bobash. Wait, there's more! More »
found on ebay
Ass-Engined Kafka Car Could Be Yours!
So what kind of wrong, wrong person would disapprove of a car with a rear-mounted 2.5-liter
no, it's not a tatra
Name That Car
This one even stumped Murliee Martin. Here's a few hints: It's not a Maverick. It was designed by Pininfarina but is not Italian. Only one example was ever made, yet it is technically a production car. No? Nothing? One more hint and another pic after the jump. More »
news
Yes! The Official Tatra Website!
We're not exactly why we're so stoked that we found this. But we're happy as clams to have found it. It being the official homepage of Czech truck manufacturer Tatra. Of course, Tatra used to make totally rad, weird cars that were favored by Nazis during the Second World War. They also used to die in them fairly often, due to the cars' tricky handling. Now they've limted themselves to medium and heavy trucks for military and civilian use, are American-owned, and if they know what's good for them, should build a damn El Camino and sell it over here. More »
custom cars/hot rods
