Driving me crazy.

Wright’s upcoming “Important Design” auction will include a Tatra 87: A sedan with an “air-cooled, aluminum-alloy, 8-cylinder, overhead cam, rear-located engine producing 73 horse power that propels the car to speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour.” I don’t know what all of that means, but I’m so smitten with this car that I don’t care. It speaks in a foreign tongue (a.k.a. gear talk) and I’m hanging on every word. And in this case, I better hang on tight since the Tatra 87 has got gusto thanks to its streamlined body and stabilizing fin. Designed by Hans Ledwinka in 1936, the Tatra 87 being auctioned is from 1940 and has fewer than 700 miles on the original engine. Read more about the car, including its “one-shot pedal operated lubricating system” here, and for additional photos and bidding info, click here. (And if you are the successful bidder, promise you’ll take me for a ride.)

Comments

[phil]

There's a nice example on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

[Thad]

I think that old cars are one of the most striking forms of 20th century design. Keep the examples coming of the weird and unusual!