Tatra does not build many cars like the Tatra 75 with 1.7L (1688 cc) Tatra 75 F4, built from 1933 to 1942 when streamlining and independent suspension were arriving together.
Where it came from
The Tatra 75 is a Czechoslovak mid-size car that Tatra introduced in 1933 as the successor to the Tatra 54 and was Tatra's last front-engined car. The front-mounted 1,688 cc air-cooled OHV air-cooled boxer engine produces 30 PS (22 kW). This gives a top speed of 90 km/h (56 mph) and fuel consumption of 12 or 13 litres per 100 km (62 mi). Attention was paid to weight reduction, with light alloy used for the cylinder head castings. In common with other Tatras of this time, the 75 had four-speed transmission and rear-wheel drive.
The car was offered with a range of bodies including two- and four-door sedans and convertibles and a six-seat limousine with a longer wheelbase. In its nine-year production run 4,501 Tatra 75s were built. After the Second World War, in 1947, the model was belatedly replaced with the radically different Tatra 600. Three Tatra 75 Sport roadsters were built by Bohemia in the 1930s. These were 3 seat vehicles based on the 75 chassis.
Under the skin
Under the skin sits 1.7L (1688 cc) Tatra 75 F4. Kerb weight is 1200 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. The wheelbase is 2700 mm / 3200 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
Where it sits in Tatra's history is not in doubt: the Tatra 54 came before it; the Tatra 600 followed it. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Chevrolet Suburban, the Bugatti Type 57, the Packard Super Eight. Nearby in the Tatra catalogue sit the Tatra 10 and the Tatra 600 kabriolet.
The money
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Tatra 75 has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.