1930 Tatra 12 Weymann Saloon (RHD)

Description

Founded in 1850, Czech company Tatra began manufacturing cars in 1897 and continues to build trucks today, although car production ceased back in 1999. Designed by Hans Ledwinka whilst employed by Steyr, his concept for a small family car was rejected by the Austrian firm and he joined Tatra in 1921, who put the new model - badged the Type 11 – into production in 1923. Innovative features included an engine and gearbox built in unit bolted to a tubular backbone chassis frame with swing axles. The engine itself is an air-cooled horizontally opposed twin cylinder mounted above the front axle, displacing 1057cc.  The front bodywork hinged to give access to the engine bay and the little Tatra was sold in a variety of styles, including a sedan and open tourer.  In 1926 Tatra released an updated model badged the Type 12, notable developments including four-wheel braking and a wider choice of models, including the lightweight Targa Florio built for motor sport. A popular choice was the saloon built using the Weymann principle, where the timber frame wasn’t rigidly joined to allow for greater flexibility, while the fabric outer covering saved weight. Inside the Tatra 12’s front seats were of a cantilevered design, nickel-plated at first but chrome-plated on later cars. Remaining in production until 1933, just 7,525 Tatra 12s were built in total but few survived the ravages of World War II and this may be the only example ever to reach Australia.