Start with what the Tatra 87 is: a limousine (finned fastback) with 2969 , built from 1936 to 1950, when streamlining and independent suspension were arriving together. What it meant takes a little longer. The shape is credited to Hans Ledwinka / Erich Übelacker.
Where it came from
The Tatra 87 (T87) is a car built by Czechoslovak manufacturer Tatra from 1936 to 1950. It was powered by a rear-mounted, 2.9-litre, air-cooled, 90°, overhead cam V8 engine that produced 85 horsepower and could drive the car at nearly 100 mph (160 km/h). It is ranked among the fastest production cars of its time.
Competing cars in this class, however, used engines with almost twice the displacement, and with fuel consumption of 20 litres per 100 km (11.8 mpg). Thanks to its aerodynamic shape, the Tatra 87 had a consumption of just 12.5 litres per 100 km (18.8 mpg). After the war, between 1950 and 1953, T87s were fitted with more modern 2.5-litre V8 T603 engines. The 87 was used by Hanzelka and Zikmund for their travel through Africa and Latin America from 1947 to 1950.
Under the skin
The engine is 2969 . On the scales it comes to 1370 kg. Drive goes through a 4-speed manual (3 and 4 synchronized). The layout matters: the engine hangs behind the rear axle, a layout that gives ferocious traction out of a corner and a reputation to match on the way in. The wheelbase is 2850 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
In the Tatra line-up the Tatra 87 has a clear place: it replaced the Tatra 77a; it handed the line to the Tatra 603; the factory was Kopřivnice, Moravia, Czechoslovakia. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Chevrolet Suburban, the Volkswagen Beetle, the Bugatti Type 57. Nearby in the Tatra catalogue sit the Tatra 10 and the Tatra 600 kabriolet.
Owning one today
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Tatra 87 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.