1948 Tatra T87

Introduced in 1936, the Czechoslovakian Tatra T87 was an improved version of the Tatra Company's model T77, which debuted in 1934 as the world's first production aerodynamic and rear-engine automobile. Dr. Hans Ledwinka designed the T87 and was the pioneer of aerodynamic, air-cooled, and rear-engine automobiles. The body design was based on proposals submitted by Hungarian Paul Jaray, who designed the famous German Graf Zeppelin dirigibles. Jaray sued Chrysler over its Airflow model resulting in Chrysler settling out of court. The famed Tucker '48 also borrowed Tatra features including a third 'Cyclops' headlight, rear-engine configuration and all-wheel independent suspension. A flat-four cylinder 'boxer' engine version of the T87 also debuted in 1936. Ferdinand Porsche based the VW Beetle design on this engine and Tatra sued Volkswagen and won 11 different patents. This T87 is fitted with the 2.97-liter 75 horsepower V-8 alloy engine. The Tatra 87 attained a top speed of 100 mph and had good acceleration while achieving about 19 mpg.

Even though the Tatra T87 was a rather expensive luxury automobile, the company managed to sell 3,056 copies of it until 1950. The Tatra Company produced passenger automobiles from 1897 until 1999. They still produce trucks and are owned by the American company Terex.