It was powered by a rear-mounted 2.9-litre air-cooled 90-degree overhead cam V8 engine that produced 85 horsepower and could drive the car at nearly 100 mph (160 km/h).

A fin in the sloping rear of the Tatra helps to divide the air pressure on both sides of the car, a technique used later in aircraft.

[9] The Tatra 87 was praised by German officers in World War II for the superior speed and handling it offered for use on the Autobahn.

The Nazi armaments and munitions minister Fritz Todt declared: "This 87 is the Autobahn car ..."[citation needed] It was known, however, as the 'Czech secret weapon' because it killed so many Nazi officers during World War II that the German Army eventually forbade its officers from driving the Tatra.

[10] However, this alleged story has never been proven and is considered apocryphal, the order forbidding the T87 use being imposed only after several non-fatal accidents.