Veteran Jawa 750 sports car to take part in 1000 Miles of Czechoslovakia race after 90-year break
A newly restored Jawa 750, which appeared at the start of the legendary 1930s race Thousand Miles of Czechoslovakia, was recently unveiled at the National Technical Museum in Prague. This Thursday, the fiery red sports car will take part in the race again, 90 years after its first appearance.
The Jawa 750 racing specials were created in the early 1930s to participate in the legendary race that took place in Czechoslovakia’s First Republic under the patronage of President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. The race only took place three times, between 1933 and 1935 and the eight Jawas that took part in it eventually ended up in private hands.
Until now, the only Jawa 750 believed to have survived to this day was the one with an aerodynamic body from 1935, which is now part of the National Technical Museum’s collection.
Recently, however, another Jawa 750 model has appeared, this time with a roadster bodywork from the serial production of Jawa 700s. This specific model was driven by the legendary motorcycle racer Antonín Vitvar in 1934.
The car was discovered a few years ago by veteran enthusiast Jaroslav Větvička, who says it has taken him four years to restore it to its former glory:
“The car was not preserved in its entirety and we had to rebuild part of the body. We have researched all the available technical documents and photos. Together with car designers, we started by creating a 3D model and refining it based on the photos. I would say the shape of the car, including the small details, are pretty faithful to the original.”
Inspired by a similarly named Italian event, the Mille Miglia, the “Thousand Miles of Czechoslovakia” first took place in 1933. Even though the event was declared a “competition”, it was in fact a speed race that took place in normal traffic and the participants were confronted with horse-drawn wagons, trucks, cyclists, and pedestrians.
The original route, covering 1,600 kilometres, led from Prague to the Czech towns of Kolín, Jihlava, Brno and Břeclav, then to Bratislava in Slovakia, and back. The current version, which has been taking place annually since 2013, is slightly shorter, measuring approximately 1,300 kilometres.
Jaroslav Větvička has taken part in the Thousand Miles of Czechoslovakia race several times. However, this will be the first time he’ll be driving a car that took part in the original edition:
“Riding the car is amazing. It’s a festive feeling, even if the car isn't very powerful. You can’t really do that much with 750 cubic centimeters. But we are not after any speed records. It’s a joy to drive this car. So all we hope for is that it won’t rain and that we’ll make it to the finishing line on Saturday outside the National Technical Museum!”
The race will start on Thursday morning outside the Veteran Car Club headquarters in Prague’s Opletalova Street.
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