1850
From carriages to the first automobiles
In 1850, entrepreneur Ignác Šustala’s company was established in Kopřivnice and gradually began to produce carriages and barouches. In 1882, the production of railway carriages was added. This was the beginning of the long existence of the factory which today bears the name Tatra Trucks a.s.
1897 and 1998
The creation of the first car and truck
The passenger car Präsident saw the light of day. A year later, a motor lorry also left the gates of the Kopřivnice factory. Its special feature was two coupled combustion engines located under the load compartment floor behind the rear axle.
1919
The Tatra make
This year brought the birth of the famous Tatra make (until then, Kopřivnice cars were produced under the NW make - an abbreviation of the German Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau - Kopřivnice carriage building). It first appeared on TL 4 trucks for the newly formed Czechoslovak army.
1923
The Tatra concept and Hans Ledvinka
The designer Hans Ledvinka designed a unique chassis system. It consists of a central load-carrying tube and independently mounted swinging half-axles. Ledvinka first used it on the Tatra T 11 and it is still the basis of most Tatra cars today.
1934
The first areodynamic Tatra
The T 77 was the world’s first mass-produced passenger car with an aerodynamic pontoon body. Its introduction caused a sensation.
1930s
Backbone of the Czechoslovak Army
Tatra was successful not only in the passenger car market, but also in the freight car market, which it even produced in larger numbers than passenger cars. These were, for example, the widespread types T 27, T 72, T 82, T 85 or T 93, which formed the backbone of the Czechoslovak Army’s armament before the war. They were also used abroad.
1935
Launching the Slovenská strela express train
In the 1930s, the Tatra railcar Slovenská strela was the most modern railway novelty of the Czechoslovak State Railways. Two units rode the rails on the line between Prague and Bratislava. The surviving railcar has recently been reconstructed and is once again running on the rails.
1942
The birth of the legendary 111
The Tatra T 111 was originally built during World War II for the Wehrmacht, which used it on various fronts. It was the first heavier Tatra truck to receive an air-cooled engine and was produced until the 1960s.
1956
An automobile for the chosen few
The T 603 limousine of graceful shapes was designed by Tatra employees without the knowledge of the communist rulers. In the end, however, they were grateful for it, because the imported Soviet limousines were of poor quality. The T 603 was also admired by visitors to the World Expo 58 in Brussels.
1959
Successor to the legendary T 111
Unlike its predecessor, the T 138 added a number of comfort-enhancing features in the form of hydraulic power steering, air-pressure clutch booster and electro-pneumatic shifting. It has an important place in the make’s history.
1974
Tatra with an Italian design
The design of the T 613 was created in collaboration with the famous Italian design studio Vignale, which also built a prototype in the coupé version, but the communists did not allow it to be produced. Special rescue and technical cars T 613 were even used during F1 races at the Hungaroring. The car was produced in various versions until the 1990s.
1983
Tough and sturdy T 815
Tatra T 815 became the main and practically the only representative of its make among trucks in the 1980s. It was produced in many versions in both civilian and military makes, with production in the 1980s reaching up to 15,000 units per year. Tatra also began competing in the famous Dakar Rally with this type.
1999
The end of production of passenger vehicles
The production of passenger vehicles had been a marginal issue for Tatra for decades. With the advent of Western competition, the Tatra T 700 luxury car had no chance of significant success, and thus ended the long chapter that began with the Präsident at the end of the 19th century.
2006
Military Tatra with rigid portal axles
Tatra Trucks has developed the medium-heavy Tatra Tactic model series for the Czech Armed Forces as a replacement for the legendary but obsolete Praga V3S. It is the only current Tatra truck without the classic Tatra chassis.
2007
Universal army special
Tatra Trucks has been producing Tatra Force vehicles since 2007, which are mainly used in the armed forces. They can also be found in rescue services and in demanding areas of the civil sector, such as construction, mining, forestry and special transport.
2011
Modern road and off-road Tatra
The Phoenix model series is the core element of Tatra’s civilian heavy truck production programme. It is also produced in a military version. It uses a combination of the original Tatra chassis concept and engines and cabs from foreign manufacturers.
2013
Tatra is back in Czech hands
Tatra, which had undergone several economic crises after 1989, returned to Czech hands. It was bought at an auction by entrepreneurs Jaroslav Strnad and René Matera, who literally took the legendary factory off the undertaker’s shovel and returned it to prosperity.
2018
Heir to the famous T 815
The Tatra Terra model series is the latest successor to the legendary T 815, T 815-2 and TERRNo1. Terra is primarily designed for firefighters and rescue workers who need durable, simple and reliable vehicles for demanding conditions.
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