Photo: Skoda
Rather than making a life-sized concept, Skoda used Photoshop to create its latest showpiece. Vision GT is the moniker of this electric racer, which is on show in Brussels at the Design and Transformation exhibition.
Skoda isn’t exactly a cool brand, but on the other hand, the racing car that inspired the Vision GT is undeniably cool. Derived from the 1101 Tudor, the 1100 OHC is a two-seat affair that ran from 1957 through 1960. Four units were produced in total: two aluminum-bodied coupes and two GRP-bodied spiders. Combining a lattice tube frame and a semi-monocoque body, the original takes its mojo from a rather dainty four-cylinder engine.
Good for 92 horsepower at 7,700 revolutions per minute when fueled with high-octane aviation fuel, the 1100 OHC combines a 1,089-cc mill with a five-speed manual transmission. Capable of revving to 8,500 rpm, this fellow is pretty small by modern racing car standards. The open-top variant is only 3,880 mm (152.76 in) long and stands only 964 mm (37.95 in) tall.
The glass-fiber reinforced plastic enabled Skoda to keep the curb weight as low as possible, tipping the scales at 550 kilograms (1,213 pounds). With a normal-sized adult male driver behind the wheel, the Czech automaker managed to spread the weight almost ideally: 49.7% front, 50.3% rear.
The 1100 OHC made its on-track debut in Mlada Boleslav in June 1958, with Miroslav Fousek taking the win. Equipped with a trapezoidal wishbone front axle and a pendulum rear axle with trailing arms, this blast from the past was limited to competing in socialist countries. Lest we forget, Czechoslovakia was split into Czechia and Slovakia in January 1993, a little over a year after the late Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev dissolved the Soviet Union.
Gifted with sharp edges and clear lines, the Vision GT is a superb tribute to a racing car that was developed under the auspices of a totalitarian bear.
Good for 92 horsepower at 7,700 revolutions per minute when fueled with high-octane aviation fuel, the 1100 OHC combines a 1,089-cc mill with a five-speed manual transmission. Capable of revving to 8,500 rpm, this fellow is pretty small by modern racing car standards. The open-top variant is only 3,880 mm (152.76 in) long and stands only 964 mm (37.95 in) tall.
The glass-fiber reinforced plastic enabled Skoda to keep the curb weight as low as possible, tipping the scales at 550 kilograms (1,213 pounds). With a normal-sized adult male driver behind the wheel, the Czech automaker managed to spread the weight almost ideally: 49.7% front, 50.3% rear.
The 1100 OHC made its on-track debut in Mlada Boleslav in June 1958, with Miroslav Fousek taking the win. Equipped with a trapezoidal wishbone front axle and a pendulum rear axle with trailing arms, this blast from the past was limited to competing in socialist countries. Lest we forget, Czechoslovakia was split into Czechia and Slovakia in January 1993, a little over a year after the late Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev dissolved the Soviet Union.
Gifted with sharp edges and clear lines, the Vision GT is a superb tribute to a racing car that was developed under the auspices of a totalitarian bear.
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