ŠKODA completed the first example of the Škoda 1100 OHC sports prototype 60 years ago. The open two-seater racing car with the internal type designation 968 featured a number of pioneering technical innovations. Škoda initially built two open-top vehicles intended for long-distance racing. In 1959, two coupés were then built on this basis.
One of the open-top red racers is now one of the highlights of the ŠKODA Museum in Mladá Boleslav.
"The Škoda 1100 OHC is a prime example of Czech engineering and design," says Andrea Frydlová, Director of the ŠKODA Museum. "The car is one of the milestones in Škoda's 116 years of motorsport involvement," continued Frydlová.
Škoda began developing the two-seater in the spring of 1956. The Škoda 1100 OHC was powered by an in-line four-cylinder engine mounted longitudinally at the front with two camshafts in the cylinder head. From a displacement of 1,089 cubic centimeters, it produces 92 hp at 7,700 rpm, with a top speed of 8,500 rpm. A liter output of 85 hp was sensational in its day. Škoda used high-octane aviation gasoline as fuel.
With a wheelbase of 2,200 millimetres, an overall length of 3,880 millimetres, a width of 1,430 millimetres and a height of just 964 millimetres, the racing car is extremely flat and stretched. Together with the very lightweight body made of glass fiber reinforced plastic (GRP), the open-top Škoda 1100 OHC weighs just 550 kilograms.
This extremely lightweight construction contributes significantly to the enormous acceleration and a top speed of 190 to 200 km/h, depending on the axle ratio. The low air resistance of the body plays an equally important role. In an initial development stage, the racer still had retractable folding headlights, but these soon had to give way to a more practical solution: fixed front headlights with aerodynamic Plexiglas cladding.
Unlike the previous ŠKODA SPORT and SUPERSPORT models, which were based on the robust chassis of the Škoda 1101 production model, the 1100 OHC is a pure prototype. The design is based on a tubular lattice frame welded from thin-walled tubes. The car owes its excellent driving characteristics to its almost ideal weight distribution. With a driver weighing 75 kilograms, the ratio is 49.7 to 50.3 percent in favor of the driven rear axle. The clutch, the five-speed gearbox and the transfer case are located at the rear and form a common assembly unit. The torsion bar suspension of the 15-inch spoke wheels was also modern at the end of the 1950s. At the front, the wheels are guided on a trapezoidal wishbone axle, at the rear on a swing axle with trailing arms.
The sports car's first public appearance ended with its first victory. Experienced works driver Miroslav Fousek won a race at the end of June 1958 at the wheel of the Škoda 1100 OHC on the city circuit in Mladá Boleslav. In addition to victories in domestic sporting events, other drivers achieved successes abroad. In view of the difficult political situation in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the racing cars from Mladá Boleslav were limited to socialist countries.
In addition to the two open cars with GRP bodies built at the end of 1957, ŠKODA also produced two examples of the 1100 OHC Coupé with a closed body made of sheet aluminum in 1959. Even with this version, the engineers succeeded in achieving a very low overall weight of just 618 kilograms and retaining the outstanding performance of the open-top version.
The two coupés were severely damaged in accidents on public roads a few years later. The restorers in the Škoda Museum workshop are currently working intensively on the rebirth of a Škoda 1100 OHC Coupé based on the surviving chassis and engines of one of the vehicles.
One of the Škoda 1100 OHCs is owned by the British importer Škoda UK, which mainly uses it at events in the United Kingdom. The other racing car is usually kept in the Škoda Museum at the brand's headquarters in Mladá Boleslav, Bohemia - when it is not taking part in classic car events at home and abroad.
