Even in these strange times, Autoworld Brussels is not doing without special exhibitions. The current one is dedicated to one of the world's oldest active car brands, Škoda. The occasion is the 125th anniversary of the company. Around 40 vehicles are on display, including rarely shown historic cars, some of which come from the Škoda Auto Museum in Mlada Boleslav.
From bicycle to automobile
Back in 1895, the two passionate cyclists Václav Laurin and Václav Klement founded a company to manufacture bicycles under the name "Slavia". They were successful with this and after the first motorcycle (1899), they also launched their first car on the market in 1905 - now under the label "L&K", the first letters of their surnames: the Voiturette A.
These were soon followed by sports and commercial vehicles. However, the factory was partially destroyed in 1925; L&K merged with the Škoda company from Pilsen and the latter's name was adopted. After the Second World War, Škoda also built successful sports cars. This is less well known in this country, probably also because Škoda had sales difficulties on the car market in Western Europe until the 1970s.
A turning point came in 1987 with the production of the Favorit and the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, but above all the partnership with Volkswagen in 1991 brought the breakthrough with the Felicia, which appeared three years later, and the Octavia, of which more than 5 million have been built to date.
From the beginning to the present
In addition to the Voiturette A (1905), Autoworld will be exhibiting a Superb (1939), a Felicia Cabriolet (1961), a Favorit LX (1995) and an Octavia in a festive atmosphere. Since sports and racing cars as well as rally cars are also part of Škoda's history - such as the RS 130 Circuit from 1978, the Octavia WRC or the Fabia R5 from 2020 - these will not be missing either. Small cars and 10 cars from the brand's current range will also be on display, including the all-electric Enyak SUV for the first time. The anniversary exhibition will be complemented by extensive illustrative material and model cars.
