Skoda Slavia Concept: The Skoda Scala Spider built by students is almost ready

Skoda has named its seventh student car as Slavia Concept. The spider version of the Scala commemorates the founding of the company 125 years ago in 1895. A group of 20 students from Skoda Academy were involved in the project. The unique model, which was developed and produced by the trainees themselves, will be presented to the public in three weeks. However, it will not go into production.

Vaclav Laurin and Vaclav Klement sold their first collaboratively developed bicycles under the brand name Slavia. Now a Spider version of Skoda’s compact model Scala, which for the first time serves as the basis for the Skoda Academy project organised annually since 2014, bears this name.

The name of the car comes from the Slavic name Slavia. This name is used for several well-known sports clubs in the Czech Republic, for example for the newly crowned Czech football champions Slavia Prague. Its captain, Jan Boril, graduated from the Skoda vocational school. The original meaning of the termSlaviais an allegory of Slavism in Slavic mythology. It can also appear in the forms Slavia, Slavie or Slavie.

The emotive spider version of the Skoda Scala recalls the beginnings of the Skoda brand. To mark the 125th anniversary of the company’s founding, the students of the Skoda Academy are commemorating the birth of the Czech manufacturer with their traditional student car project. The two founding fathers, Václav Laurin and Václav Klement, first opened a bicycle repair workshop in Mlada Boleslav in 1895. Soon after, they began designing their own bicycles, and from 1896 they successfully marketed them under the brand name Slavia. The new student car thus breathes new life into a legend from the company’s history.

The historical name fits perfectly with the students’ idea of taking a journey through history with the modern Scala to a time when automobiles were open-top. A classic spider is wild and unconstrained. Through its consistent openness, the Skoda Slavia does not conform to conventions and also represents free-thought and the young generation’s carefree attitude. With its roof removed, the Slavia offers a particularly intense driving experience. Further specific changes to the bodywork make the Spider appear even sportier than the emotive Scala.

The tradition of Skoda student cars started in 2014, when students of the Skoda vocational school in Mlada Boleslav were given the opportunity to plan, develop and build a spectacular concept car. Each one of these concept cars since then has illustrated the creativity and commitment of Skoda’s up and coming talent.

The present-day Skoda Academy was founded in2013. This caters for the training of school graduates and young professionals as well as the development of employees and managers. Following the signing of the memorandum with the Kovo union for the promotion of vocational training in 2014, the Skoda Vocational School’s classrooms were modernised. With the support of the Kovo union, Skoda has invested over 300million Czech korunas in the project in recent years towards modernising the training and equipment at the Skoda Academy.