With 2026 marking the 40th anniversary of Tatra’s first Dakar Rally, the manufacturer created a Dakar Zone at its annual Kopřivnice Technology Days last weekend. 25 rally trucks were on display, ranging from competition trucks to service vehicles that appeared in the Paris–Dakar era, the current Saudi period, and the Dakar Classic.

Tatra had considered organizing a parade of trucks, but the amount of visitors made such a procession too dangerous and meant only some could be properly driven at a time. With that unable to materialize, the trucks were instead placed on static displays, either parked along the company’s testing ground or perched on sand and rock displays.

The trucks were compiled from several sources, some internally like the Tatra Museum while others came from private collectors or teams. The latter includes Tom Racing, Loprais Team, and Fesh Fesh, the latter two will bring Tatras to the 2027 Dakar Classic.

Tom Racing brought its Tatra 815 “Balai” trucks that were used in January’s Dakar Rally and Africa Eco Race as rescue vehicles. Team owner Tomáš Tomeček, who drove the “Livescore” service truck at Dakar, was a guest of honor.

Loprais Team, whose family has a rich history with Tatra, brought a massive fleet that included its Dakar Classic crew from January like the Harley-Davidson Tatra 815 Puma and the 815 HAS. While Aleš Loprais no longer drives Tatras in the Dakar Rally, his old Tatra 163 Jamal was displayed. His uncle Karel’s original Puma, #607 P5 from 1988, and #502 “Speciál” from the late ’90s were on hand as was the six-wheeled 815 VD 13 that Zdeněk Kahánek raced in 1988. The team also brought out its media truck.

The Lopraises even attached advertisements onto the Dakar Classic trucks like the VD 13 and “Babča” six-wheeler for those who want to race, which included a contact number (+420 603 525 408).

Like Loprais, Fesh Fesh brought its 2027 Classic trucks out to Kopřivnice. These included the P17 6×6 truck, a 163 nicknamed “Červený” fielded in partnership with NRF Team, and Tomeček’s old Petrobras-sponsored 815. The Tatra FF8 that Tomáš Vrátný will race in next year’s Dakar Rally was there too.

Historic Tatras on display included Clay Regazoni’s “Rega” 6×6 and the “Desert Runner” P17 from 1987. Daniel Stiblik’s service truck from the 2024 Dakar and a Rallye Breslau assistance 815 called “Csekey” were also displayed.

Besides Tomeček, Dakar alumni like Vlastimil Buchtyár, Petr Gilar, Miroslav Gumulec, Ota Měřínský, and Bedřich Sklenovský were in attendance.

Featured image credit: Jiří Šmíd Jr.