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Success story: Skoda's rise began with the Octavia

2020-04-03T02:51:51.041Z


They built their first car more than a century ago. But Skoda's ascent only really began six decades ago with the Octavia.


They built their first car more than a century ago. But Skoda's ascent only really began six decades ago with the Octavia.

Mlada Boleslav (dpa / tmn) - There was an ice age in Europe, and the curtain between west and east was still iron. In the 1960s, therefore, there were hardly any products from the east that the west paid particular attention to, not to mention commercial success.

This was especially true for the cars from the socialist brother states. Because no matter whether Trabant or Wartburg, Volga, Yugo, Dacia or Lada - the West had little more than a snooty laugh for the supposedly antiquated constructions from the East. But there was one exception: When Skoda unveiled the Octavia in 1959, the sensation was great - the station wagon followed in 1960.

Limousines and station wagons, which owe their melodious name to the fact that they were the eighth new development after the war, according to the manufacturer in Mlada Boleslav, even won design awards in Brussels or Geneva. "The stylistic and technical qualities were undisputed, its shape was coherent and up to date, it was solidly processed and its technology did not have to hide behind comparable models from Ford or Opel", Frank Wilke from the market watcher Classic Analytics in Bochum praised the Czechs as a big hit.

Slow down behind the bakelite steering wheel

The Octavia still makes a corresponding amount today when you sit behind the thin, ivory-colored bakelite steering wheel of the classic car after your milestone birthday: starting is a tedious procedure because you pull a lever to the right of the wheel, then vigorously Accelerate and also have to find the right gear in the H-shift on the steering wheel. But once it runs and you push the choke back after a few minutes, the classic feels really fresh and smart.

The chassis with coil springs and anti-roll bar on the front axle and the then all-around independent suspension was extremely progressive for its time. The sprightly pensioner rolls along the country road accordingly and preaches the deceleration. Because you shouldn't expect too much from the 1.1 liter four-cylinder in the bow, which pulls just 29 kW / 40 HP on the rear wheels. Even then, there was no more than 110 km / h.

From everyday life to the rally car and back

That may have been enough for everyday life, but the Czechs obviously wanted more. In 1960, they therefore unveiled the 37 kW / 50 hp Octavia Touring Sport, homologated the 130 km / h two-door car as a racing car at the FIA, and achieved three class wins in a row at the Monte Carlo Rally.

Regardless of whether you are 110 or 130 km / h - today you take it easy with regard to age, travel in slow motion at speed 70 in the fourth of four gears on the timeline and instead enjoy the ambience. Because only because the fittings here in the test car are embedded in sheet metal instead of wood and plastics and plastic materials have not yet been used, the Octavia is not plain.

On the contrary: imitation leather is emblazoned on the door panels, fine knotted goods are laid on the floor and the continuous benches in the first and second rows would also decorate any kidney-table living room. And above all, the Octavia offers a surprising amount of space and makes a beetle appear small and small - especially as a station wagon, which followed in 1960 with up to 1050 liters of storage space.

Lots of space and simple operation - that still counts today

The abundant space is still one of the bestseller's core virtues and the empty space in the cockpit almost fits the fifth generation, which is just starting and boasts an armistice in the war of the buttons. Thanks to the many touch and sensor surfaces, so many functions have never been operated with so few switches in a Skoda.

1959 is considered the birth year of the Octavia sedan and 1960 stands for the station wagon in the documents. But the story began with the 440 and 445 series, which had been planned from 1953. According to the government's calculation, as new, affordable people's cars, they were intended to comfort the Czechs over currency reform and were therefore presented in 1955 with appropriate propaganda.

Because there was no talk of facelifts at the time, but the car was to be brought up to date after only four years, it became the Octavia in 1959 without major optical changes - and thus the root of its success. When the last limousine rolled off the assembly line in Mlada Boleslav in April 1964 and production of the station wagon was discontinued seven years later in Kvasiny, a total of 360,000 Octavia were built.

The Octavia was too expensive for a real car for the people

As long as the Octavia has been running and as impressive as the numbers have become over the years, the Octavia has not become a real bestseller, Wilke judges: "At the request of the socialist government, the Octavia should become a real Czechoslovakian people's car, but the calculation did not quite work out on, "says the expert. The car was simply too expensive for that.

The Czechs also had only moderate success with exports: in view of the undisputed qualities of the car, an official importer was found even for Germany. "However, it had a difficult time due to the extremely thin dealer network: While the Octavia was part of the street scene well into the 1970s, it remained an exotic vehicle on West German roads."

Rebirth with marksmen from Wolfsburg

There can be no question of that today. Because 30 years after the premiere and once again it is the Octavia that gives Skoda the upswing: When the VW group joined the Czechs in 1991, the Lower Saxony were the first to take on the former bestseller, put it on the Golf and platform land a direct hit. The Octavia, presented in 1996, became a hero for practitioners and penny pinchers and began an unprecedented rise - no other import model sold so well in Germany in the years and generations thereafter.

And if the fifth generation of the Octavia is now on the market almost in time for its 60th birthday after a total of almost seven million units, the Golf offshoot could even become the king of the compact class. Because as a station wagon and with the private registrations, the daughter has already overtaken the mother according to her own statements.

As a classic, the Octavia is a bargain, but ...

As ubiquitous as Skoda is among new cars and young used vehicles in general and the Octavia in particular, the Czech icon is rarely seen at classic meetings: "Anyone who shows up with an Octavia has the exotic bonus for sure", says classic car specialist Wilke and names along with a good dose of osteal as the most important reason to buy a classic.

Measured against other cars from this period, the Octavia is a real bargain: in the Classic Analytics tables, it is in good condition for just 6000 euros. But Wilke warns of hasty decisions: "Anyone who warms up for the Octavia must, above all, struggle with a sparse supply of spare parts."

Source: merkur

All tech articles on 2020-04-03

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