The Tatra 607 Monopostracing car was produced in the Czech Republic by the Tatra Kopřivnice car factory in the years 1950–1958. It was built in accordance with the rules for building Formula 2 racing cars.[1] A total of five Tatra 607 single-seaters were created, which won victories at domestic circuit races in the 1950s.
Origin and development
After successfully participating in the Czechoslovak Grand Prix in 1949 with the sports car Tatra 602 Tatraplan Sport (based on the chassis of Tatra 600 limousine), it was decided to build a thoroughbred racing car in Kopřivnice. The T607 was presented for the first time on 17 September 1950 at a circuit in Ostrava, where Bruno Sojka drove it for two promotional rounds. The official launch of the new car took place a week later, on 24 September 1950 at the Masaryk Circuit.[2]
Technical description
The original T607 from 1950 had an engine with a displacement of 1985 cm³ (bore 72 / stroke 61 mm) and corresponded to the Formula 2 category of up to 2000 cm³. At a compression ratio of 12.8, the engine reached a torque of 21 kpm (206 Nm)/4900 rpm. Cooling air was supplied to the engine by two axial fans, driven by V-belts from pulleys on the crankshaft. In 1953, a 2,545 cm³ (75/72 mm) version was created, which resembled the Tatra 603. For these versions of the engine, the manufacturer experimentally installed ejector cooling, using the energy of the exhaust gases. Later versions of the engines were also fitted with four twin Weber 40 DCL carburettors.[3]
The fuel tank volume increased from the original 95l (T607) to 105l (T 607-2).[4]
Body and chassis
Tatra 607-2, cockpit
The streamlined, cigar-shaped body with freewheels had a lattice frame, welded from thin-walled aircraft tubes. The front wheels were mounted on wishbones, the rear wheels on pendulum angle half-axles. The 15" wire center-nut wheels were fitted with 5.50 × 15" (140 mm × 15") front and 6.50 × 15" (165 mm × 15") tires at the rear. All wheels were thus independently suspended, sprung with longitudinal torsion bars and telescopichydraulicshock absorbers.
The steering was mechanical, rack-and-pinion, derived from the T600 car. The brakes on all wheels were drum, liquid, dual-circuit, with hydraulic pressure equalization. All wheels on the T607 had heavily ribbed steel drums, while the T607-2 had wider aluminium alloy drums with massive axial vanes and cast iron inserts.[5] The wheelbase of the T607 was 2250 mm, the wheelbase of the T607-2 was extended to 2350 mm.
Racing pedigree
Records
In 1957, Adolf Veřmiřovský reached the speed of 197.7 km/h in the Tatra 607, on the Strakonice drop-off near Barrandov. Tatra did not accept this result, claiming that the car could reach faster speeds, if the length of the run was larger. During the second attempt, on 16 October 1953, on the wide and straight Valašské Meziříčí – Hranice road (today's I/35 road), a new national speed record of 207.972 km/h was reached.[6] The almost eight-kilometer straight section in a gentle descent gave the driver more room for accelerating and braking.
Motorsport
At the 1950 Grand Prix of Czechoslovakia which was held at the old Masaryk Circuit, the racing car came 2nd[7] (behind Maserati but ahead of Škoda) in the overall ranking, and achieved the fastest lap time of the race of 9:38.7 min[8] (coming at a speed of 109.5 km/h).
Racing driver Jaroslav Pavelka won the championship race on the circuit in Ostrava in 1951, and thus began his long series of winning races with the T607. In 1952, Pavelka won races in Šternberk, Piešťany and again in Ostrava.[9] On the Ecce Homo hill climb in Šternberk, Pavelka won a total of 3 times, with the single-seater T607 in July 1952 and with the single-seater T607-2 in 1953–1954.
Pavelka scored a significant victory on 28 September 1952 in an international race at the Masaryk Circuit (8 laps/142.4 km), where he beat the favorite German Edgar Barth who drove a BMW 2000 at the time.
References
^Hanzelka, Boleslav (1974). Vozy Velkých cen (in Czech). Vol. 2. Prague: SNTL. pp. 178–184.
^VELEBNÝ, M. Czechoslovak formulas (in Czech). Vol. 1st ed. Prague: Grada Publishing. p. 160. ISBN978-80-247-1752-4.
^ČÍŽEK, Z. (1978). Grand Prix Brno (in Czech). Vol. 1. NADAS. pp. 20–45, 56–69, 170–174.
^ZAVŘEL, Z.; DOSKOČILOVÁ, A. (2001). Historie automobilových závodů 1930–2000 (in Czech). Vol. 1. Prague: Computer Press. pp. 29–30, 33–38. ISBN80-7226-449-4.
