Tatra 80

The Tatra 80 is a Czechoslovak luxury full-size car built by Tatra between 1931 and 1935.

Tatra 80
1935 landaulet built for TG Masaryk
Overview
Manufacturer	Tatra
Production	1931–1935 25 produced[1]
Designer	Hans Ledwinka
Body and chassis
Class	Luxury full-size car
Body style	sedan, convertible, limousine, landaulet
Layout	FR layout
Chassis	Backbone chassis
Related	Tatra 70
Powertrain
Engine	5,990 cc Tatra 80 V12
Transmission	4-speed manual[1]
Dimensions
Curb weight	2,500 kg (5,500 lb)[2]

History

Hans Ledwinka designed the car in 1930. It was launched in 1931, the same year as the Tatra 70, and the two models have the same backbone chassis and swing axle suspension. The brakes are by ATE-Lockheed.[3] The Type 80 has wire wheels, whereas the Type 70 has disc wheels.

But the underlying difference is the engine. The Type 70 was built with a 3,406 cc six-cylinder OHC engine,[3] but the Type 80 was given a 5,990 cc, 65-degree V-12 sidevalve engine.[4] The engine produces 120 hp (89 kW),[5] giving the car a top speed of 130 kilometres per hour (81 mph).[3] Edit : Query whether it really is sidevalve design ? The picture of the engine looks much more like one of the last sleeve valve designs, comparable with the Daimler Double Six

Tatra T80 V12 engine

Tatra supplied the bare rolling chassis, engine and transmission. Customers chose a body style and which coachbuilding company would build it. Four-door sedans, cabriolets and six-seat limousines were built. There is at least one example of a two-door, four-seat convertible.[6] Sodomka of Vysoké Mýto built bodies for several Type 80 cars.

The Type 80 was Tatra's most luxurious and expensive car, priced at Kčs 195,000 to 200,000.[3]

Tatra built 22 Type 80 cars between 1931 and 1935.[7]

Presidential landaulet

In 1935 a unique Tatra 80 landaulet was built as the official state car of Czechoslovak President TG Masaryk.[3] On 18 April 2005 it was presented to the National Technical Museum in Prague.[6] On 29 September 2005 the Czech Republic declared that a set of five historic cars, including the Presidential landaulet, to be a national cultural monument.[8]

References

Tatra 80 two-door convertible

1. "1932 Tatra 80". Conceptcarz. Retrieved 13 March 2008.
2. "Tatra T80". Histomobile. Archived from the original on 2 July 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2008.
3. Tuček 2017, p. 159.
4. Tuček 2017, pp. 157–158.
5. Tuček 2017, p. 158.
6. "TATRA 80 – Rolls Royce z Kopřivnice". Auto.cz. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
7. Tuček 2017, p. 287.
8. "Národní kulturní památky prohlášené Vládou ČR dne 29.9.2005" (in Czech). InfoČesko. 12 October 2005. Retrieved 1 February 2018.

Bibliography

• Gomola, Miroslav (2001). Tatra Automobiles – Luxury Cars from Koprivnice 1920–1940. Bohemia Hobbies. ISBN 80-85991187.
• Schmarbeck, Wolfgang (1977). Tatra, Die Geshichte Tatra Automobile (in German). Bad Oeynhausen: Verlag des Internationalen Auto und Motorrad-Museums. ASIN B015S8O2OS.
• Tuček, Jan (2017). Auta první republiky 1918–1938 (in Czech). Prague: Grada Publishing. pp. 159–160, 285–286. ISBN 978-80-271-0466-6.