The first car built in Brno, a motorcycle inherited from a grandfather, or a vintage car now carrying the fifth generation of the same family. VUTeráni, the first-ever gathering of classic vehicles from the BUT community, offered not only a display of beautiful cars from different eras and countries, but also a fascinating collection of stories behind them. The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering organised the event as part of Researchers' Night on Friday 25 September 2026.

“The credit for how this car looks today goes to my dad – and to the fact that I got married. I insisted that the car had to be at my wedding. Otherwise, I'd have stayed at home with my parents and ended up an old maid,” joked Zuzana Vajkay, who works in FME's finance department, as she introduced the Tatra T54/30.

The car was built in 1932, during the Great Depression, when manufacturers were cutting costs wherever possible. “The roof isn't made of sheet metal but roofing felt. The body has a wooden frame covered with sheet metal,” explained Zuzana's father, Jaroslav Smrček.

The car's original owner was a German estate manager at Lukov, near Zlín. “He had the vehicle custom-built to his specifications, probably with the intention of exporting it to Germany. That's why it has left-hand drive. It's the only vehicle produced by Tatra in Kopřivnice during that period with the steering wheel on the left,” Smrček explained. During the First Czechoslovak Republic, traffic drove on the left and steering wheels were generally positioned on the right. The switch to the current arrangement came in 1939. “When I take it out on the road, motorcyclists give me a thumbs-up,” Zuzana Vajkay added. She was the only woman behind the wheel at the VUTeráni gathering.

Treasures passed down through generations

Another family heirloom is the Tatra 54 owned by Karel Fila, an FME graduate of the former Motor Vehicles and Internal Combustion Engines programme.

“The car was built in 1932, and my grandfather, who ran a shop in the Znojmo region, bought it for 40,000 crowns. My grandmother was thrifty and wanted him to buy a three-wheeled car so there would be fewer tyres to wear out. But my grandfather insisted on buying a proper car so that even his grandchildren could ride in it,” Fila explained. Today, he is a grandfather himself and enjoys taking his own grandchildren for rides in the beautiful brown Tatra.

Students and colleagues know David Škaroupka from the Institute of Machine and Industrial Design primarily for his work in 3D printing and industrial design. But his garage also houses a motorcycle ridden by three generations of his family before him.

The 1938 Ariel Red Hunter 500 is a classic example of a British sports motorcycle from that era. “With approximately 25 horsepower, it could reach speeds of up to 160 km/h and had enough power to accommodate a sidecar, which was a competitive advantage at the time. The motorcycle has been in our family since 1942,” Škaroupka explained, adding that VUTeráni marked its first appearance at an exhibition.

“For me, VUTeráni isn't just a display of historic machines. It's an event where sharing experiences and enthusiasm for technology helps pass on a passion for mechanical engineering and reminds us of the value of being able to bring a machine back to life with our own hands,” Škaroupka added.

His Ariel passed its technical inspection just one day before the gathering and was able to make the journey under its own power thanks to the help and expertise of Karel Fila – Škaroupka's father-in-law and the owner of the Tatra 54.

It might be a crazy idea…

The idea of organising VUTeráni – a gathering of historic cars and motorcycles owned by BUT staff, students and graduates – came from Miroslav Jopek of the Institute of Manufacturing Technology and Lukáš Řehořek of the Institute of Materials Science and Engineering. Naturally, their own vehicles were also part of the event.

Miroslav Jopek brought two Velorex vehicles from his private collection.

“Among us Velorex enthusiasts, there's a tradition of naming each vehicle after its first owner. The original owner of this Velorex was a Hungarian called Lajos, so I call the vehicle by the Czech equivalent of that name, Ludvík. I also brought Václav,” Jopek told visitors.

BUT Rector Ladislav Janíček also had the rare opportunity to take a ride in the legendary Czechoslovak three-wheeler with its fabric body during Researchers' Night.

The roar of engines and the smell of petrol continued to draw visitors well into the evening. Alongside Czechoslovak cars and motorcycles from the interwar period, the display featured American classics and Škoda models that have since become classics themselves.

We would like to thank all the owners of these historic vehicles for taking part and for their enthusiasm and willingness to engage with visitors throughout Researchers' Night.

The complete photo gallery is available on photographer Václav Široký's website.