Tatra does not build many cars like the Tatra 57: a two-door sedan, convertible or coupé with 1,155 cc Tatra 57 flat-four engine, built from 1932 to 1938 when streamlining and independent suspension were arriving together.
The background
The Tatra 57 are a series of two-door compact cars, built by Czechoslovak company Tatra from 1932. They are popularly known by the nickname "Hadimrška". Tatra updated the model as the 57A in 1936, and as 57B in 1938. A military adaptation, the 57K (for Kübelwagen), was introduced in 1941.
Through 1945, more than 5,000 Tatra Kübelwagens were built. All versions have a characteristic Tatra backbone chassis, with the drive-shaft running encased in its central structural tube. Tatra ended production of the 57K in 1947, and of the 57B in 1949. With that the company altogether withdrew from making compact cars; from 1948 its smallest model was the 2 litre Tatra 600.
The engineering
Under the skin sits 1,155 cc Tatra 57 flat-four engine; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. Kerb weight is 730 kg. The gearbox is a 4-speed manual. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Where it sits
Where it sits in Tatra's history is not in doubt: the Tatra 12 came before it. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Chevrolet Suburban, the Bugatti Type 57, the Bugatti Type 41 sedanca. Its Tatra stablemates include the Tatra 10 and the Tatra 600 kabriolet.
The money
There is no federal ownership record for the Tatra 57 — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.