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Modern Eastern export - Skoda 1000 MB in (historical) test

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Created on April 22, 1966

Text:

Gerhardt Koop

Photos:

Skoda

Archiv Reinhard / Max Pichler

Archiv

Skoda

Archiv Reinhard / Max Pichler

Archiv

Skoda 1000 MB (1966) - four-door family sedan

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Skoda MB 1000 1964 - to be confused with a VW 1500

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Skoda MB 1000 1964 - presented with fashionable ladies

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Skoda MB 1000 1964 - plenty of storage space

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Skoda MB 1000 1965 - named after its factory

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Skoda MB 1000 1964 - modern eastern export

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Skoda MB 1000 1966 - for the whole family

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Skoda MB 1000 1966 - also available in Switzerland

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Skoda MB 1000 1966 - on the road in the Swiss Alps

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Skoda MB 1000 1966 - various paint finishes

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Skoda MB 1000 1966 - various transportation options

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Skoda MB 1000 1966 - front windows can be lowered

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Skoda MB 1000 1964 - red paintwork was popular in Czechoslovakia

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Skoda MB 1000 1965 - Laurin & Klement automobile from 1905 in the foreground

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Skoda 1000 MB (1966) - the engine is in the back - Geneva Motor Show 1966

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Skoda MB 1000 1965 - built at the Mladá Boleslav plant

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The Škoda 1000 MB was built in Mladá Boleslav in what was then a newly constructed 80-hectare section of the main plant. Work began in the 1960s and the costs amounted to one billion crowns.

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Skoda MB 1000 1965 - Conversion into a reclining bed

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Skoda MB 1000 1965 - Possibility to change the arrangement of the seats

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Skoda 1000 MB (1965) - practical - individually folding rear seat backrests - so three people with lots of luggage can be transported - Geneva Motor Show 1965

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Skoda MB 1000 1965 - View into the engine compartment

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Skoda MB 1000 1965 - completely new engine

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Skoda MB 1000 1965 - View of the speedometer

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Skoda MB 1000 1966 - Transparency drawing

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Skoda MB 1000 1964 - Transparency drawing

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Summary

The new Skoda model, named after its plant in Mlada Boleslav, no longer resembles the Octavia. With its remarkable amount of space and equipment above the level of its class, the 1000 MB, which was completely redesigned in the CSSR, certainly had sales prospects. This test report from 1966 explains the shortcomings and benefits of the new model.

This article contains the following chapters

The history of the brand
Completely new
Plenty of space in the interior
Interior
Driving and engine characteristics
Conclusion
Technical data

Estimated reading time: 18min

Preview (beginning of the article)

This car can only come from Skoda, it says somewhere in the advertising for this brand. The copywriters still seem to be stuck on the previous Octavia model. That was true. A car of this type should not have been built for a long time, at least not in Western countries. The current 1000 MB, on the other hand, could just as easily come from a modern factory on this side of the big curtain. The opposite of what the advertising people claim could therefore bring success for this model. It only bears a resemblance to its ancestors in minor details. Not only was a completely new car factory built in the CSSR, the design and construction of the car is also fundamentally new for them. Even if not in terms of performance, size and perhaps even equipment, the Skoda 1000 MB need not fear Western competition in its class. It was inspired by many models, of which the VW 1500 and the Renault Dauphine are the most conspicuous. But that doesn't make it a replica.

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