Tatra is a
Czech manufacturer producing vehicles in
Kopřivnice. It is owned by the Tatra Truck company, based in
Ostrava, and is the second oldest company in the world producing cars with an unbroken history, after
Peugeot. The company was founded in 1850 as Ignatz Schustala & Comp., later renamed Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriksgesellschaft when it became a wagon and carriage manufacturer. In 1897, Tatra produced the first motor car in central Europe, the
Präsident automobile. In 1921, it changed its name to Kopřivnická vozovka a.s., and in 1919 changed from the Nesselsdorfer marque to the Tatra badge, named after the nearby
Tatra Mountains on the Polish-Czechoslovak border at the time (now this range is on the Polish-Slovak border).
During World War II Tatra was instrumental in the production of trucks and tank engines for the German war effort. Production of passenger cars ceased in 1999, but the company still produces a range of primarily all-wheel-drive trucks, from
4×4 to 18x18. The brand is also known as a result of Czech truck racer
Karel Loprais: in 1988–2001 he won the
off-road race Dakar Rally six times with a
Tatra 815.
