The Czechoslovakian Tatra 77 (T77) is one of the first serial-produced, truly aerodynamically-designed automobiles. It was developed by Hans Ledwinka and Paul Jaray, the Zeppelin aerodynamic engineer. Launched in 1934, the Tatra 77 is a coach-built automobile, constructed on a platform chassis with a pressed box-section steel backbone rather than Tatra's trademark tubular chassis, and is powered by a rear-mounted 2.97-litre air-cooled V8 engine, in later series increased to a 3.4-litre engine. It possessed advanced engineering features, such as overhead valves, hemispherical combustion chambers, a dry sump, fully independent suspension, rear swing axles and extensive use of lightweight magnesium alloy for the engine, transmission, suspension and body. The average drag coefficient of a 1:5 model of Tatra 77 was recorded as 0.2455. The later model T77a has a top speed of over due to its advanced aerodynamic design which delivers an exceptionally low drag coefficient of 0.212,<ref name="europeancarweb.com"></ref> although some sources claim that this is the coefficient of a 1:5 scale model, not of the car itself. Recent article confirmed the Tatra 77/77a drag coefficient for real full-size car as 0.36. History The Tatra Company began manufacturing cars in 1897 in Kopřivnice, Moravia, in today's Czech Republic, making it the third-oldest still-existing automobile manufacturer in the world. Under the direction of Hans Ledwinka, the company employed many of the genius minds of automotive history, including Erich Übelacker and consultant Paul Jaray, who together designed the Tatra 77. Paul Jaray and Tatra V570 Paul Jaray first worked at Luftschiffbau Zeppelin (LZ) where he gained experience in the aerodynamic design of airships. He used his access to LZ's wind tunnels and subsequently established streamlining principles for car design. In 1927 he founded a company specializing in developing streamlined car bodies and selling issuing licences to major vehicle manufacturers. Tatra was the only manufacturer to incorporate Jaray's streamlining principles into their series car production, starting with the Tatra 77. Before designing the large, luxurious T77, Jaray designed an aerodynamic body for the Tatra 57, a mid-range model. This prototype was not developed further and failed to reach production. Instead, Jaray constructed two prototypes for a concept designated the Tatra V570, which more closely conformed to his aerodynamic streamlining principles, featuring a beetle-shaped body. Decision to make luxurious state-of-the-art car However, at the time Tatra already had a cheap, strongly-selling car in its production range, which was moreover popular due to its continuation of