Škoda has introduced a gaggle of unique concepts of late, with the reimagined Felicia Fun being among the most interesting efforts until the new Škoda 110 R Concept coupe was revealed. Being more attractive than just about everything else the brand has previewed, it’s a shame the model will probably never see production.
There has been a glut of retro-inspired concepts showcased in recent years. The best ones all seem to blend what the world thought was futuristic 40 years ago with the cyber punk aesthetic that’s once again become popular. But are automakers actually going to build these things or are they content simply showing them off?
Based upon the original rear-engine Škoda 110 R (below) and rally-spec 130 RS produced in Czechoslovakia from 1970-1980, the concept takes a lot of liberties. For starters, it lacks some of the austere touches synonymous with Soviet-era cars. It also forgoes the rear-mounted four cylinder for all-electric power.
But it’s really more of an exercise in design than homage to the original Škoda coupe. The odds of Volkswagen Group issuing a green light to put the vehicle in production seem exceptionally low. The old model was really just a jumping off point for Škoda Design.
“I’ve always had a passion for elegant cars. I appreciate the blend of clean volumes with simple details, which the 110 R embodies perfectly,” explained lead designer Richard Švec. “What I was also impressed by was this model´s crossover into the world of motorsport.”
“I didn’t want to take the retro route, he continued. “My aim was to create a completely new form while carefully integrating subtle nods to the character-defining features of the 110 R. I wanted the design to feel as innovative as possible,” Richard says. Capturing the spirit of the original without relying too heavily on the past was no easy task. “Each element had to be treated with care—to avoid slipping into retro territory while still preserving the car’s identity. From the very beginning, it was clear that finding the right balance of proportions and volumetric shaping would be the key.”
But the concept is very clearly borrowing from the past and what’s currently fashionable among automotive designers. It has salad-shooter wheels, a paint scheme that looks to have come from the DeLorean Motor Company, and body panels that are clearly in line with the retro-future aesthetic that’s grown quite popular over the last decade.
We’ve also got exterior LED accent lighting and cameras replacing traditional side mirrors, both of which feel like clichés when it comes to modern automotive trends. The only real surprise are the hidden headlamps, which are of the slide-back vs pop-up variety.
“Lighting is one of the features that reveals a car’s era. Reinterpreting the round headlights and rectangular tail lamps would have pushed the design too far into retro territory,” Švec noted.
Trendy or not, it’s a handsome vehicle and balances retro-futurism rather well. It’s just a shame the designer sees it as an everyday vehicle for young people with a penchant for motorsport. Because it’s exceptionally hard to imagine a world where this actually gets built by the modern automotive industry.
While we do sometimes see concepts make it to market largely unchanged, it’s much more common to see designs lose some of their edge come production time. Considering the regulations at play in most markets, that’s largely understandable. Manufacturers have to be able to legally sell an automobile for its assembly to make sense.
But it can sometimes spoil the car, whether we’re talking about the initial redesign or some third-generation update that takes the model so far from the original design that it becomes unrecognizable.
With so many stunning concepts in recent years, it’s kind of crazy that there’s a whole subset or retro-future standouts — some of which look like distant relatives of the DMC DeLorean. We’ve had the Hyundai N Vision 74 (based off the 1974 Pony concept car), Peugeot e-Legend Concept (based upon the 504 Coupe), BMW M1 Homage Concept (M1), Honda Sports EV (S600), Audi PB18 e-tron, Audi Skysphere, Porsche Vision 357, BMW iVision Dee, Honda’s 0 Series, and plenty of others.
But most of those never made it to market and it might have been the right call. For starters, just about every vehicle named thus far has been electrified and that has not exactly been working out of the industry as hoped. We’ve even seen some of the most interesting design concepts struggle with sales after the introductory hype died down.
Nearly everyone following the industry agreed that the Honda Urban EV concept seemed practical and undeniably cool. However, when the production model (which was clearly designed to resemble a futuristic version of the first-generation Civic hatchback) was released, nobody bought one. Honda only built the “Honda e” for three years and garnered about 12,500 global sales in the process. Despite universal praise for the vehicle’s design, the car was criticized for its small all-electric range and high price tag.
Tesla’s Cybertruck is another good example. The production model is incredibly close to the prototypes teased by Elon Musk and the truck enjoyed a frenzy of attention upon its release. But sales are on the decline and people have begun to criticize some of its quirks after living with it as a daily driver. The rest pertains to quality control and the familiar allegations thrown at all all-electric pickups, regardless of brand.
That could suggest that electrification is one of the big issues holding these vehicles back. With so many of the slickest concept designs being relegated to all-electric vehicles, automakers might not be comfortable putting them into production until EV demand improves.
But they haven’t all failed. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 looks very nearly as wild as the concept vehicle it was based upon, happens to run entirely on battery power, and has somehow done relatively well for itself. The compact might not have legitimate mass market appeal. But it’s one of the few EVs that has seen increased demand between model years and can reliably count on several thousand deliveries each month.
In Europe, the same could be said of the Renault 5 E-Tech that’s based on the venerable Renault 5 hatchback. Interestingly, this is probably the vehicle that has the most in common with the Škoda 110 R concept. Both are electrified redux cars based upon older models designed to have mass, economical appeal with raced-up counterparts that made names for themselves in motorsport.
With that in mind, there’s really no reason Škoda couldn’t go all the way with this one in Europe. The brand has even had some decent luck selling EVs on the market relative to the competition. But there’s something about the 110 R that feels a little too special to put into assembly. The unfinished nature of the concept (suspiciously absent interior) just makes a production model feel even less likely.
That’s hardly going to trouble North American drivers who aren’t going to see the car, whether or not Škoda opts to build them in mass quantities an ocean away. But it would be nice for automakers to implement similarly interesting design cues into more production models. Retro-futurism clearly sells. We’ve seen it work for over twenty years with the Ford GT, Ford Mustang, Ford Bronco, Dodge Challenger, Chevrolet Camaro, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Mercedes G-Class, Mini Cooper, Nissan Z, Jeep Wrangler, and basically every single Porsche 911 ever made.
Keeping with that trend and injecting some of the aspects popular from 1970-1990s automotive design could be a savvy way to keep the attention of younger car shoppers as the Baby Boomers age out of driving. The window on the cyber punk aesthetic likewise remains wide open. However, it’s not going to stay that way forever. Automakers will need to decide what to put into development today in the hopes that it’ll still be popular several years later, once the car lands on the market.
[Images: Škoda; Hyundai; Tesla]
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