Tatra 77a – From Miracle to Wreck and Back
The centerpiece of the exhibition is the restored Tatra 77a passenger car from 1937.
Visitors to the exhibition can learn about the operational history of the car from the NTM collection, which belonged to Czech-German entrepreneur Evžen Porák and is part of the national cultural heritage. The exhibition also covers the development and history of Tatra 77 and 77a cars, which are significant domestic contributions to the global development of the automobile, and the use of aerodynamics in car design in general.
A significant part of the exhibition is dedicated to the restoration of the car. Important elements include digital, haptic, and other multimedia components, which enhance the understanding of the context and make it accessible to visitors with various disabilities.
The exhibition, located in a historic garage from 1912, presents the topic comprehensively and is open to all, including visitors with different types of disabilities. The haptic line for visually impaired visitors includes a 1:5 scale model of the exhibited Tatra 77a, allowing them to explore the unique aerodynamic shapes by touch. Near the model, there is a side-view drawing of the car made from numerous dots for blind people, with a brief text in Braille. For visitors with impaired vision, the exhibition is supplemented with basic information in enlarged black sans-serif text.
The exhibition includes an animated video, made accessible in collaboration with the KukátkOO association for visitors with hearing impairments, thanks to translation into Czech sign language by an interpreter who is a native sign language speaker.
The exhibition is significantly supplemented by a guide in the TourStories application, designed for mobile phones. Through this app, visitors can listen to curator Arnošt Nezmeškal's narration, view the car's interior, and see additional visual materials related to the operational history and restoration of the Tatra 77a, which could not fit on the exhibition panels.
The Tatra 77a car, serial number 35690, with body number 7735 and engine number 201712, was acquired in 1937 by Czech-German entrepreneur Evžen Porák, owner of the Vltava Mill paper mills in Loučovice in the Šumava region. In the 1950s and 1960s, the car changed several private owners, and in 1974, in an overall poor condition, it became part of the National Technical Museum's collections. The car waited almost fifty years in the museum's depository for its revival. The aim of the restoration, made possible by EU funds, was to bring the car to a historically accurate and aesthetically attractive state while preserving its authenticity as much as possible. Due to its high documentary value, the car was not made operational; no repairs or replacements of mechanical parts were carried out, regardless of the extent of their wear.
