We’re rather big fans of Skoda’s ‘icon reimagined’ programme, in which the company’s design team let their imaginations run wild by reworking one of its past models as a modern car. Previously, it’s brought us cheery retro reimaginings of the Favorit hatch and Felicia Fun pickup, but the latest entry in the series goes down a bit more of a sporty route.
Designed by Richard Švec of Skoda’s digital modelling team, it’s a modern reworking of the 110 R, a sporty rear-engined coupe based on the humble Skoda 100 and produced between 1970 and 1980. We use the word ‘sporty’ quite liberally here – its 1.1-litre four-banger made all of 61bhp, so the 110 R was never going to trouble that other rear-engined coupe. It was, however, the basis for the 130 RS, a rally version that saw impressive levels of success right across Europe.
Skoda 110 R EV concept – side
There’s plenty of that rally DNA in Švec’s reworking, with its flared arches, centrelock turbofan wheels and ribbed bonnet, a direct reference to a similar design feature on the 130 R.
Švec, though, has avoided going too far down the retro route by giving his concept the big, round headlights and rectangular tail lights of the original 110 R. Instead, we get headlights hidden behind retractable covers paired with the minimalist ‘Tech Loop’ running light signature recently introduced on the Vision O concept.
Skoda 110 R EV concept – rear
While there’s not a fully modelled interior, we do get glimpses through the windows of a roll cage and bucket seats with harnesses, suggesting that Švec designed the car with real performance intentions.
Now for the reality check: as with all the ‘icon reimagined’ cars, this is more of a chance for a designer to flex their considerable talent rather than a look at any possible production car. In a cooler timeline, this and the recently-surfaced design proposal for an electric VW sports car are sibling production models, sitting on VW’s rear-drive MEB platform, complete with the 322bhp ID3 GTX powertrain. Sadly, we don’t live in that timeline, so we’ll just have to look at these renderings and be sad.
#Classic #Skoda #Reimagined #Retrofuturist #Sports #Car