Photo: Contract Hire and Leasing
The new Skoda Superb is without a doubt the company's greatest achievement to date, capable of offering as much space as a Mercedes E-Class. However, this is not your typical Superb model, as it's been covered from head to toe in leather.
This story is extremely frustrating because only a few people have seen the car and Skoda refuse to admit its existence. This is one of those "I hear there's an Audi R8 that looks like a Skoda" type of moments.
The four photos of the car we have come from Contract Hire and Leasing. A British leasing website is not the normal source for such a story, but they do say the project originates with Jozef Kaban, Skoda's lead designer on the Superb project.
Being the quirky fellow that he is, Kaban asked some students from the Florence University in Italy to come up with a design that integrates influences from their city. Because there's a huge leather goods industry there and the Gucci drew first breath in Florence, they went with cowhide.
Nobody knows how they covered a whole car in leather. But we have seen similar projects in America. There are two to go about it: either you stretch the material over a surface and hold it from the back or glue everything in place from the back, which is what we think happened here.
The students picked brown leather for the Superb’s bodywork, and we have to say the result looks stunning. All the major panel lines are clearly defined by white stitches, making the car look like a giant sofa.
This sort of flair and boldness is uncharacteristic of the Skoda brand. Sure, they might have a few bright color options nowadays, but the Czechs pride themselves on practicality, not style. Behind the dead cow hides, there are dozens of storage spaces and cleverly arranged features designed to make life easier.
Will leather-wrapped cars catch on? Have any animals been hurt in the making of this Skoda? Is brown the new Black? All these questions remain unanswered for now.
The four photos of the car we have come from Contract Hire and Leasing. A British leasing website is not the normal source for such a story, but they do say the project originates with Jozef Kaban, Skoda's lead designer on the Superb project.
Being the quirky fellow that he is, Kaban asked some students from the Florence University in Italy to come up with a design that integrates influences from their city. Because there's a huge leather goods industry there and the Gucci drew first breath in Florence, they went with cowhide.
Nobody knows how they covered a whole car in leather. But we have seen similar projects in America. There are two to go about it: either you stretch the material over a surface and hold it from the back or glue everything in place from the back, which is what we think happened here.
The students picked brown leather for the Superb’s bodywork, and we have to say the result looks stunning. All the major panel lines are clearly defined by white stitches, making the car look like a giant sofa.
This sort of flair and boldness is uncharacteristic of the Skoda brand. Sure, they might have a few bright color options nowadays, but the Czechs pride themselves on practicality, not style. Behind the dead cow hides, there are dozens of storage spaces and cleverly arranged features designed to make life easier.
Will leather-wrapped cars catch on? Have any animals been hurt in the making of this Skoda? Is brown the new Black? All these questions remain unanswered for now.
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