Škoda opened its museum doors and castle grounds to a rare, rolling timeline of its past, letting a handful of historic models tell the story of a 130-year brand that began with bicycles and grew into a global car maker. From a 1940 Rapid modelled in a wind tunnel to the compact Favorit that helped pave the way for Volkswagen’s multibillion?pound investment, the drive showed how Škoda’s core values—practicality, space and value—ran through every era. A senior company figure captured the spirit bluntly: there is “nothing that Škoda has not done yet.” The experience underlined that claim, placing early backbone?chassis innovation alongside later, mass?market usability. It also highlighted how a focus on honest engineering, rather than exotic excess, kept the brand relevant from the days of the Austro?Hungarian market to today’s family car buyer.
When and where it happened
The drive and demonstrations took place at the Škoda Museum in Mladá Boleslav and on the grounds of Castle Loucen in the Czech Republic. The feature documenting the event was published on 18 November 2025.
From Bicycles to Backbones: The DNA That Built Škoda
Founders Václav Laurin and Václav Klement launched the company in Mladá Boleslav, then in the Kingdom of Bohemia, repairing and building bicycles before widening the remit to diesel static engines. They poured castings near the museum’s entrance, a reminder that heavy engineering sat alongside craft from the outset. By 1905, the firm built its first car. Period records indicate two working examples survive, and one still circulates around the castle yard—an artefact that connects early mobility with today’s brand identity.
Laurin & Klement did not stop at cars. They built motorcycles and aero engines, and quickly grew into the largest car manufacturer in the Austro?Hungarian market. The Škoda name arrived in 1925 after Škoda Works purchased Laurin & Klement, but the diversity continued. Even when Škoda built the original V8?engined Superb for dignitaries, it also developed practical, good?value family cars. That balance of ambition and sensibility remains the thread that runs through the museum fleet.
Streamlined Statement: The 1940 Rapid OHV Leads the Line
The 1940 Rapid OHV stands out as a milestone. Škoda modelled it in a wind tunnel—the first time the brand used the method—resulting in a sleek two?seat saloon with overhead?valve 1558cc power. The company built only 101 of this body type, and just five such cars remain. Engineers paired the aerodynamic shape with a backbone chassis, a design also used by the early Superb to boost rigidity over ladder?frame rivals.
The car’s condition today looks immaculate: tidy carpets, neat fabrics and a polished wooden dashboard create a cabin that feels richer than its modest footprint suggests. The period details are telling. Trafficators sit on the bodywork, yet modern indicators connect to the lights via a discreet switch below the dash to meet Czech rules. A pull string drops a rear window blind, while a pushrod links the twin wipers because only one uses a motor. You start the engine with a key and a foot?operated starter, then ease away on a three?speed H?pattern gearbox with no synchromesh. It demands double?declutching and rev?matching, but it rewards smooth, well?timed inputs.
Steering, Brakes and Charm: How the Rapid Drives Today
The Rapid’s steering runs slow and heavy, with little self?centring. The brakes need deliberation and distance. Yet the 42bhp engine, geared low and unburdened by excess weight, pulls with easy torque. Top speed sits around 62mph, but the car feels happiest trickling along rural roads. Drivers of the era built journeys around mechanical sympathy. This Rapid brings that reality to life, showing how early cars delivered satisfaction through rhythm and feel, not speed.
In modern traffic, the Rapid still holds its own if the driver respects its limits. It offers good headroom, elbow room and, thanks to a split rear window, a characterful view out. The car’s elegance and simplicity make the case that usability and joy can coexist without power assistance or electronics. For a short pootle between villages, it remains a delight.
Estate Expertise: The 1968 Octavia Combi’s Quiet Revolution
By the late 1960s, Škoda leaned into the growing demand for usable family cars. The Octavia nameplate—so called because it was the eighth model produced by the then nationalised Czechoslovak car maker—reached a high point with the Combi estate. The saloon ran from 1959 to 1964, but Škoda launched the Combi in 1961 and kept it in production for a decade. The car measured just over four metres long and around 1.6 metres wide, yet it packed in generous head and shoulder room, a usable rear bench and a split tailgate with a notable boot.
The Octavia Combi found international reach. Škoda oversaw assembly in Ireland, Chile and New Zealand. In New Zealand, the chassis underpinned the Trekka, a light utility vehicle that looked like a pared?back off?roader built for farms and tradespeople. The Octavia’s cabin brought a cleaner, more modern feel than the Rapid. Drivers benefited from a column?mounted four?speed with synchromesh and servo?assisted brakes. The thin?rimmed steering wheel and simple white dashboard delivered a clean, airy driving position with excellent visibility—traits that define Škoda’s later estates.
Changing Layouts: Rear Engines, Front Engines and Space
Škoda replaced the Octavia saloon with the 1000MB in 1964, moving to a rear?engined, rear?wheel?drive layout that kept the engine, gearbox and driven wheels tightly packaged. The design freed up the cabin and improved forward sightlines thanks to a low scuttle and small frontal area. Manufacturers across Europe used the approach well into the 1960s, even as front?wheel?drive pioneers like the Mini shaped the future.
Škoda held on to the rear?engined formula longer than most. By the early 1980s, the company, still state?owned, set its sights on a clean break. It needed a front?engined, front?wheel?drive hatchback with modern packaging. That decision set up a car that would anchor the brand’s revival and draw heavyweight interest from Wolfsburg.
Turning Point Car: The Favorit and a New Era of Investment
The Favorit arrived in 1987 after a long development cycle, with styling by Bertone and variants that stayed on the drawing board. Škoda built it through to 1994. The model shown at the museum carried around 100,000km and felt notably modern to drive: power?assisted steering and brakes, a slick five?speed gearbox and light, easy controls. At 3.8 metres long, it undercut the Octavia Combi on length yet delivered more cabin space up front and a sense of lightness and visibility that modern drivers still appreciate.
Period road tests captured the fundamentals. Autocar & Motor wrote that the Favorit “always had the fundamentals of a great little car,” offering “the space and pace of the best [alternatives] but at two?thirds the normal price.” Advertising from 1993 spelled out the impact of that engineering integrity. “Volkswagen were so impressed, they bought the company,” ran one line. Another called it “The £3,000,000,000 Škoda,” a reference to Volkswagen’s initial investment. “The new Škoda,” those adverts concluded. The Favorit helped make the pitch; subsequent decades showed how right that bet was.
Why the Museum Drive Matters for Škoda Today
The Rapid OHV proves Škoda pushed aerodynamics early and backed it with stiff chassis engineering. The Octavia Combi shows how the brand built enduring strength in estates by combining space with simple, robust controls. The Favorit marks the shift to a modern layout, reliable value and the confidence that drew in Volkswagen’s billions. Across different eras and political systems, the same pattern appears: focus on practicality, use space well, and make engineering decisions that serve drivers, not spec sheets.
That continuity still anchors Škoda’s current range of family cars. The museum drive did more than celebrate nostalgia; it traced a direct line from wind?tunnel experiments and backbone frames to the kind of honest packaging that buyers rely on today. As the industry faces electrification and tighter efficiency rules, Škoda’s history suggests the brand will keep chasing smart space, sensible pricing and clear?headed design. Those priorities powered a century of progress; they look set to guide the next one.