Autoworld honours the 125th anniversary of Škoda with a grand exhibition, now extended until March. Its been some time since a temporary exhibition occupied the entire gallery, but this show is quite something.
The Škoda 125 years – From past to future exhibition was opened with the Škoda Factory Museum’s support and many others. The comprehensive show presents over forty cars with archives and scale models, complemented by visuals and decoration.
At the same time, Autoworld was not the only one to present Czech classics. This year, Škoda had a great start by also attending Rétromobile with a medium-sized factory stage that offered everything: origins, past, classics, racing and a concept for the future.
What makes this exhibition really special, is the selection of exquisite cars quite atypical for the Czech brand mainly remembered for cheap Eastern bloc cars and lately for economic and practical family cars. The exhibition brought together classic race cars, unknown by most connoisseurs, and modern race cars from several decades.
After the Second World War ŠKODA built some impressive lightweight and sports vehicles, winning various competitions such as a class win in the Monte-Carlo Rally in 1936 and a European Touring Car Championship in the ’70s. The trio of race cars commemorates this period, ensuring a lasting entry to the Škoda exhibition.
The first car is Formula 3 race car from 1965 developed by the Škoda factory. It has a steel tube spaceframe equipped a heavily modified ŠKODA 1000 MB engine and gearbox.
The aerodynamic body was initially made of aluminium, later the engineers switched to glass-fibre. Four of these F3’s were built between 1965 and 1970, and won races by Václav Bobek, Jaroslav Bobek and Miroslav Fousek in East European championships.
The red 1972 Spider 1 racing prototype was built by Škoda for circuits and hill-climb racing. It used parts from the 100/110 models. The engine was a prototype, and the bodywork was hand-made from aluminium, winning the Czechoslovak championship.
One of my absolute favourite of the exhibition was the 1950 Superport, developed for circuit racing. In 1950, three Supersport race cars were manufactured, with different engines, for the factory team, raced between 1950 and 56 taken over later by privateers.
Following the mandatory route, the Škoda exhibition leads upstairs to the gallery, where a selection of 2020 models welcomes the visitors.
The organisers call this a mini-car show, that exhibit about a dozen vehicles of Škoda’s current model range including the 100% electric SUV Enyaq.
Another milestone exhibit is an L&K Slavia bicycle, Škoda’s first successful product from 1899. The company’s founders, Václav Laurin and Václav Klement were passionate cyclists, and the Škoda is currently a main sponsor of the Tour de France.
In the other side of the gallery, a selection of race cars steal the show, covering the entire postwar period until today.
The 1957 Škoda 1100 OHC is a two-seater sports car, derived from the Škoda 1101 “Tudor”.
The car was built around a tubular space frame, with fibre-glass bodywork. Only two were made, and they raced until 1963.
The 1978 ŠKODA 130 RS is probably the most familiar car of the eastern bloc, right next to the Lada VFTS. Their pinnacle was the team victory in the 1981 season of European Touring Car Championship, albeit with a slight rig in the game.
Around 300 of these racing cars were built between 1975 and 1980, based on the 110 R model, but the spoiler, the doors and the roof were made of aluminium, the extended fenders and the tailgate were made of fibreglass-reinforced plastic.
This circuit car was built in 1978 for the works racing department. Later it was used for hill climbing.
The next car is probably the most well-remembered Škoda race car since the fall of communism. In 1999, ŠKODA entered the top class of off-road motorsport with its first four-wheel-drive turbo rally car, the Octavia WRC. Among the drivers between 1999 and 2003 were legends like Stig Blomqvist, Toni Gardemeister, Armin Schwarz and Jan Kopecký.
A total of 27 cars were produced, and this car is still raced from time to time by private drivers in regional rallies. The ŠKODA Octavia WRC stroke out of the small WRCs of that period, the Evo3 from 2002 was driven by a former world champion Didier Auriol, but never achieved any victories.
The next car seems like a race car, but the 2002 Octavia RS is actually a road-legal series production car, albeit a special edition. One way ŠKODA celebrated the company’s 100th year of motorsports was with a 100-unit series of the Octavia RS.
The fastest mass-produced Škoda of that time featured a 1.8-litre turbocharged petrol engine with 180 hp, which could accelerate the Octavia RS liftback from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.9 seconds.
The small 2003 Fabia WRC is the next stage of Škoda’s racing programme. For the 2003-2005 seasons, the factory team competed with the Fabia WRC. The exhibited car is one of the two Fabia WRC prototypes.
The podium finishes with two Belgian race cars, the 2009 ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000 and the 2019 ŠKODA Fabia R5 evo2.
The Fabia Super 2000 won many races and titles, bagging the SWRC World Championship title in 2011, three times in the European Championship, three times in the Asia-Pacific series and in many national championships around the world. The ŠKODA Fabia R5 evo2: scored 5 manufacturers’ and 4 world champion titles between 2015 and 2019.
The centre of the gallery was occupied by one large podium, showing an impressive selection of classics. The two dozen cars illustrated the comprehensive history of the Czech brand without being exhaustive of course.
The oldest car of the timeline is a Laurin & Klement Type A from 1905. With a 7 HP 1 litre engine, it could reach a top speed 40 km/h.
This was the very first car built in Mladá Boleslav by Václav Klement and Václav Laurin in 1905. The Type A was also induced in the automotive hall of fame of VW’s Zeithaus.
The next vehicle seems much more robust, and illustrates the automotive evolution, even if the 1909 Laurin & Klement Type G still followed a phaeton layout.
It weighed in at 807 kg, and with its 1.5 litre inline-4 cylinder engine (producing a whopping 15 hp at 1800 rpm) it reached a top speed of 60 km/h.
The ‘30s are represented by two sporty roadsters a 422 and red Rapid. The 422 was a real market success, 3435 cars were produced, thanks to the myriad of derivatives offered.
It was available as phaeton, sedan, Tudor, coupe, convertible, roadster, and taxi-landaulet.
The Rapid was another commercial success. Between 1935 and 1938, some 3,900 Rapid-chassis with the 1,4 I side valve, were produced. They were available in various body styles: sedan, sedan-convertible, coupe, convertible and even a delivery van.
The big black limo is a 1939 Superb 3000 OHV, a rare luxury model a top of the line of the company’s production during the late 1930s. This Superb 3000 OHV weighed nearly two tons and was manufactured from 1938 to 1949.
The last prewar car is a 1940 Popular, that was introduced in 1938 and remained in production until 1946. In total, some 6,000 were produced. This is a type 927 roadster cabriolet, with headlamps partially built into the fenders.
The post-war period lines up most popular models (Tudor, Felicia, Octavia), along with a few exotics, like the red Felicia.
The line-up also includes a blue 1000MB from 1966 and a more modern 130 Rapid Coupé·from 1987, concluding with the not so memorable Favorit.
As a concluding remark, I have to say that Autoworld outdid itself again. It’s been some time since I could see a grand exhibition, and the topic was nothing compared to the recent supercar exhibition.
However, the result is even more spectacular, so if you thought you would never want to visit a Škoda exhibition, Autoworld is your best bet to change your mind.
In case you are wondering about your missed opportunity, the show has just been extended until March. If you are still looking for any additional reasons for a visit, I have another good news. Since this week, a dozen Volkswagen specimen arrived to replace the Mazda exhibition.
