skoda / scale 1/43 | thebiggarage

The Škoda Works was established as an arms manufacturer in 1859 by Czech engineer Emil Škoda in Plzeň, then in the Kingdom of Bohemia, Austrian Empire.

Škoda Auto a.s., often shortened to Škoda, is a Czech automobile manufacturer established in 1925 as the successor to Laurin & Klement.

Škoda Works became state owned in 1948. After 1991, it was gradually privatized to the German Volkswagen Group, becoming a partial subsidiary in 1994 and a wholly owned subsidiary in 2000.

The company that became Škoda Auto started in the early 1890s by manufacturing bicycles.Škoda (then Laurin & Klement) factories were founded in 1896 as a velocipede manufacturer.

Headquarter: Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic

1203 1968-1997

The Škoda 1203 was a light commercial vehicle of the Škoda brand and later also TAZ.

They were the only Czech/Czechoslovak van cars ever produced.

They were manufactured from 1968 to 1981 in Vrchlabí by AZV Škoda (typ 997). Five years later, production of the modernized type began (typ 776) and part of the production was moved to Trnava (TAZ).

In 1981, the entire production was moved to the Slovakian city (Škoda TAZ). In 1985, another modernization came (TAZ 1500) and the 1,433 cm³ engine appeared. The vehicle was also manufactured in small-scale production in 1994–2010 by Ocelot Auto in Žacléř. Around 70.000 cars were produced.

The first plans for production were drawn up in 1956. Inability to secure suppliers of parts and accessories in Czechoslovakia were the reason the production was delayed until 1968.

Before the start of the design, Škoda had looked askance at the Barkas B1000 and the buses of IMV from Yugoslavia and ZSD Nysa from Poland. Despite the long development period, the Škoda 1203 had a number of shortcomings, such as mediocre brakes, a short wheelbase and poor heating. The engine delivered little power and had a lot of fuel consumption.

The Škoda 1202 serves as the technical basis of the vehicle.

There were several modifications during the production run, most of which had to do with the engine. The Škoda 1203 lasted for over thirty years without major structural interventions in production, and contributed significantly to the development of small businesses after 1989.

From 1983 to 1984, two modern prototypes were made in collaboration with Bratislavské automobilové závody (BAZ for short), they were given the names TAZ I and TAZ II. As with many other projects in the Comecon (for example the RGW car), further development was stopped by the government due to excessive financial investments.

The water-cooled four-cylinder inline OHV petrol engine produced 47 PS as 1221cc (1968–1985) and 57 PS as 1433cc (1981–1999).

Top speed was 90 to 115 km/h.

Skoda 1203

935 1935

This streamlined prototype caused a sensation at its world premiere at the Prague Motor Show in 1935. Its aesthetic, aerodynamically optimised contours caught the attention of the public, as did the vehicle’s unusual technical features.

Thanks to its sophisticated aerodynamics, the prototype achieved an exceptionally low drag coefficient of cw=0.37 as early as 1935. The expertise that the engineers gained in this area with the 935 Dynamic was incorporated into the design of the series models that followed shortly afterwards, such as the Škoda Popular Monte Carlo of 1936 and the “motorway version” of the Škoda Rapid 1500 OHV presented in 1939.

The 935s boxer engine, a water-cooled four-cylinder engine with a displacement of two litres has opposing cylinders and is mounted in front of the rear axle as a rear-centre engine. In this way, the designers lowered the vehicle’s centre of gravity, which had a positive effect on driving performance. The engine has an output of 55 hp and accelerates the 935 Dynamic with a wheelbase of 3200 mm to speeds of up to 130 km/h.

Another innovative feature is the electromagnetic four-speed gearbox from the French manufacturer Cotal, which enables semi-automatic gear changes with its preselector.

Only 1 935 Dynamic was ever made and Škoda sold the vehicle as a used car to a private buyer in 1939, and repurchased it from the same individual in the 1960s. Three years ago, the museum workshop completed the meticulous restoration of this unique vehicle, which has been among the highlights of the Škoda Museum in Mladá Boleslav ever since.

Skoda 935 (youtube.com)