Eastern plastic - the Skoda 1100 GT Coupé from 1970
02/01/2014
At the beginning of the seventies, an attractive plastic coupé with a reference to the manufacturer Skoda haunted the press. Before the 1971 Geneva Motor Show, Automobil Revue reported on the interesting prototype called the Skoda 1100 GT, which was said to have a top speed of 180 km/h. A steel frame supported the lightweight plastic body and the 1140 cm3 Skoda engine.
A steel frame supported the lightweight plastic body and the 1140 cm3 Skoda engine in the rear, which was to produce 75 hp at 5,750 rpm. The kerb weight was given as 816 kg, the width as 150 cm and the height as 115 cm.
The rear swing axle was typical for the time, as were the disc brakes, which were fitted all round. A dual-circuit brake system (according to Dunlop) and a built-in roll bar ensured safety.
Vaclav Kral was named as the person responsible for the development at the time. What was not communicated at the time was that the design was supposedly based on the Saab Sonett II . A corresponding coupé was sold to AZNP Mladá Boleslav by racing driver Zdenek Trejbal.
However, the two vehicles differed significantly in appearance, as a glance at the Saab Sonett II, which also had a plastic body, shows.
As we know today, however, the car was not actually a Skoda, but was built by UVMV, a research institute in Prague, and may never have seen the inside of the Skoda factory. And Saab would probably not have enjoyed the clear borrowings from the Sonett if Skoda had built the sports car in larger numbers.
Well, it has to be said that the "Skoda" was actually more visually convincing than the Saab. Nevertheless, the practically production-ready Skoda coupé did not make it into series production; only a handful of examples are said to have been built, although other versions were produced over the years, not all of which impressed with their build quality.
The pictures are now available in the Zwischengas archive.
