For Škoda Auto, the coming year will also be marked by numerous important anniversaries: after the 125th anniversary of the company's founding (of its predecessor company Laurin & Klement) this year, the car manufacturer will celebrate 30 years as part of the Volkswagen Group in 2021. It will also be 120 years since the start of the company's successful involvement in motorsport in 1901. There will also be milestone anniversaries for important models in the portfolio in 2021. Škoda is celebrating the market launch of the first modern Octavia generation 25 years ago and the debut of the SuperB 20 years ago.
120 years of motorsport tradition with technology from Mladá Boleslav
At the end of 1895, Václav Laurin and Václav Klement founded their company, which would later become Škoda Auto. In the following year, the young company produced five different bicycle models, and from 1899 motorcycles were added to the model range - and it was with these that the proud motorsport tradition of vehicles from Mladá Boleslav began 120 years ago.
The very first event was a legend: On June 29, 1901, factory rider Narcis Podsedníček finished the most demanding race of the time in the saddle of an L&K motorcycle - the 1,196-kilometre race from Paris to Berlin. 2021 marks the 40th anniversary of a major motorsport success: Škoda won the brand title in the European Touring Car Championship in 1981. The Škoda 130 RS, also known as the "Porsche of the East", proved to be the measure of all things in its class on the circuit. On September 27, 1981, Škoda secured the championship with the agile coupés at the last round of the season in Zolder.
The vehicles from Mladá Boleslav often demonstrated their qualities at the legendary Monte Carlo Rally. Almost 85 years ago, on February 2, 1936, Zdeněk Pohl/Jaroslav Hausman took second place in the class up to 1500 cm3 in the cockpit of the Škoda Popular Sport roadster model. This was preceded by the traditional rally to Monaco, which started for Pohl and Hausman in Athens. After 3,852 kilometers in challenging winter conditions, the two reached the finish line in Monaco in the Popular Sport without any penalty points. Škoda also achieved major motorsport milestones in the following decades. Two of these successes are celebrating milestone anniversaries in 2021: 60 years ago, the Finnish duo Esko Keinänen/Rainer Eklund won the class up to 1300 cm3 with the Škoda Octavia TS at the 'Monte'. A success that Škoda vehicles were able to confirm in 1962 and 1963. A series of four class victories in a row began 30 years ago, when Pavel Sibera/Petr Gross won the classification for vehicles up to 2.0 liters displacement and one driven axle at the Monte Carlo Rally for the first time in 1991 with the Škoda Favorit 136 L hatchback model. They were able to repeat this triumph from 1992 to 1994.
30 years under the umbrella of the Volkswagen Group
The Škoda Favorit is also closely linked to the most important anniversary for Škoda Auto in 2021. After the Velvet Revolution in November 1989 and the transition to a market economy, it quickly became clear that Škoda needed a strong international partner. The modern design of the Favorit compact model sparked interest in the Czech car manufacturer from the Volkswagen Group in early 1990. After intensive negotiations with several potential partners, the car manufacturer became part of the Volkswagen Group 30 years ago, on April 16, 1991.
At that time, Škoda produced almost 200,000 vehicles a year in Mladá Boleslav, but only a single model series. The company operated a total of three production sites in the Czech part of the former Czechoslovak Republic. In the meantime, Škoda has risen from regional market leader to global player. The car manufacturer offers ten model series and is successful in more than 100 markets worldwide. The company is also consistently expanding its range of electrified models, and Škoda has increased its deliveries more than sixfold over the past three decades.
Important models celebrate the anniversary of their production launches
Several important models that have contributed significant chapters to this success story will be celebrating important anniversaries in 2021. For example, it will be the 75th anniversary of the debut of the Škoda 1101/1102 "Tudor", which made a significant contribution to the successful development of the car manufacturer in the post-war period. In 1966, 55 years ago, the Trekka, which was manufactured in New Zealand, proved that Škoda's solid technology was also suitable for very special requirements and specific markets. The angular off-roader was based on the Octavia Super of the time and is also considered the forerunner of the Škoda SUV vehicle family, which is very popular today.
2021 also marks the anniversary of the first generation of the modern Octavia - the first model to be developed entirely under the umbrella of the Volkswagen Group. Škoda started series production of the Octavia hatchback 25 years ago in 1996 and successfully returned to the lower mid-size class with it. The fourth generation of the Octavia is now already on the roads. For it, the Czech car manufacturer offers the most diverse and sustainable drive portfolio in the model's history to date.
In 2001, Škoda revived another historic name with the SuperB: the manufacturer has been competing with it in the mid-size car class for almost 20 years and is now offering it in its third generation. With the SuperB iV*, the car manufacturer presented its first model with plug-in hybrid drive in the first half of 2019.
In the 1930s, Škoda proved the robustness and reliability of the technically advanced vehicles from Mladá Boleslav with demanding long-distance journeys. The highlight of these expeditions 85 years ago was a long-distance journey that took the Škoda RAPID semi-convertible once around the world. On the 97-day long-distance journey - the pure driving time was only 44 days - the world travelers Břetislav Jan Procházka and Jindřich Kubias covered an average of 630 kilometers per day. In the same year, 1936, Eva and František Alexandr Elstner organized the "100 days in a small car" trip. In the 1.0-liter Škoda Popular model, they covered around 25,000 kilometers across the USA, Mexico, Spain and other European countries. Also 85 years ago, Stanislav and Maria Škulina began their two-year trip to Africa in a Skoda Rapid sedan, which took them a total of 52,000 kilometers from Dakar across the equator to Johannesburg in South Africa.
