We have been informed that Lubomir Rek (1925-2011) has passed away at the age of 86 years.
Probably little known by a broader public, Rek was employed by Tatra and was one of the leading technicians to develop the T 603 engine for the T 603 saloon and T 607 Monopost. Further he acted as a co-driver/navigator and technical manager in Tatra’s T 600 and T 603 motorsport program.
You may be familiar with the famous Cal Schenkel album covers for Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention (among others), like the one called “Just Another Band from L.A.” (1972).
Schenkel has now updated his artwork with an original painting of Dydia DeLyser and Paul Greenstein’s 1941 Tatra T87 (winner of the 2010 New York Times Collectible Car Contest), and their two dogs, “Just Another Tatra from L.A.” Here’s the new picture, showing Dydia dressed as Czech Bugatti racer Eliska Junkova, and Paul as a soldier in the Czech Legion, and their two terriers, Harpo and Bix (in wheelchair with eye patch).
Dutchman Laurens Kleynen, the man that had an engine fire in his beautifully restored narrow mask 1967 T2-603, causing him to take it to a scrap-yard, restored a Skoda and a Pobieda but intimicy knew he was restoring a T57a as well. The Tatra veteran and former garage owner has had his coming out recently. Can a T 57a shine more than this one?
Prague, May 18 (CTK) – Czech Transport Minister Radek Smerda has named Paris-Dakar Rallye six-times winner Karel Loprais, 62, commissioner for road traffic safety, the ministry’s spokesman Jakub Ptacinsky told CTK Wednesday.
Loprais’s name is closely connected with the Tatra lorries with which he was competing in the rally.
“We want to make use of his rich experience and knowledge in the sphere of road transport in promotion of safe traffic,” Ptacinsky said.
Smerda received Loprais Wednesday morning. The details of his work in the new post are yet to be discussed, Ptacinsky said.
Loprais won the Rallye Paris-Dakar riding a Tatra lorry in 1988, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2001.
Besides gold medals in this category, he also holds four silver and one bronze medals.
Loprais is a trained blacksmith. He worked with Tatra Koprivnice from 1967. After some time he became a Tatra testing driver, later focusing on testing the lorries in extreme conditions.
Over the course of a century now there have been some truly amazing and beautiful cars produced… and then there have been some eyesores and aesthetic nightmares. This is about the latter portion of vehicles.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504784_162-20056546-10391705.html
Achter het IJzeren Gordijn stond na de Tweede Wereldoorlog de auto-industrie onder staatstoezicht.
De Comecon stelde duidelijke regels op. In het voormalige Tsjecho-Slowakije moest Skoda zich richten op personenauto’s, Tatra op vrachtwagens.
Tatra deed haar beklag en mocht uiteindelijk ook luxe regeringsauto’s produceren. En jawel, dat werd deze 603 (1956 -1975). Een bijzonder ding vanwege z’n niet te missen gestroomlijnde vormgeving en opmerkelijke techniek. Achterin ligt in dit exemplaar bijvoorbeeld een luchtgekoelde achtcilinder met een inhoud van ‘maar’ 2,5 liter. Lees verder English
Hip-hop artist Kanye West is credited as director of the abstract 35-minute film, which features portions of nine new West songs, boldly colorful visuals and off-kilter camera angles. The mostly dialogue-free piece, set to premiere this weekend on cable channels MTV, VH1 and BET, will accompany West’s upcoming album, “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” which will be released Nov. 22.
After a prelude featuring narration from rapper Nicki Minaj, West’s character, Griffin, is seen driving a black MTX Tatra supercar (http://www.conceptcarz.com/) down a country road.
http://www.billboard.com/news/kanye-west-says-he-had-considered-suicide-1004121673.story?tag=hpfeed
Dutch couple Pim van der Kleij and Mascha van Ringen, who are restoring their T603-1, said YES to each other in the last days of september in wedding mecca Las Vegas. Danny Barnett was happy to take them to the wedding chapel in his soft yellow narrow mask T 603.
TW congratulates Pim and Mascha.
July 27th
Dear Kees Smit
Thanks so much for posting a link to our Tatra’s victory in the New York Times Collectible Car Contest on Tatraworld.
Yesterday, Paul Greenstein and I celebrated that victory by throwing a party for all the people who voted for the car in the contest (and were able to make it to Los Angeles to celebrate). Some 300 people (including the Czech Consul General) attended, and it was the largest known public gathering of 
Tatras on the American West Coast (3). Those gathered enjoyed Czech food (home-made goulash and ook nog Hollandsche rooie kool zoals mijn Oma vroeger gemaakt heeft), Czech beer, Czech cars, as well as Tatra cookies and a T87 cake.
Paul Greenstein & Dydia DeLyser
Restoration history in two pages:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/automobiles/collectibles/25contest.html?_r=3&pagewanted=1&ref=automobiles&adxnnlx=1280516473-sXqLJ3zGxoOk9Z1TdggMGQ
http://clunkbucket.com/tatra-t87-world-tour/
Summaries:
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/07/31/1941-tatra-t87-named-the-new-york-times-collectible-car/
http://www.carthrottle.com/nyt-collectible-car-of-the-year-1941-tatra-t87/
