2 door Octavias

[Banana-Man]

I was watching "Custom My Ride" the other day.

I am noticing a significant pattern in what work they are doing to their customers cars.

They are turning 4 door saloon cars into 2 door pillar less coupes. If they can do it to a Range Rover and a Merc why can't it be done to a Octavia.

Why are Skoda not making a 2 door production car anyway it would look quite cool.

I spent half an hour knocking one up this morning to see what it would look like and bearing in mind I'm no expert "which shows" and I just used Microsoft Paint it looks OK?

They make Seat Leon's and Golfs as 2 door cars as standard,so why not Octavia's.

[sms]

i have wondered this as it could be branded along the coupe line, just imangine it octavia vrs coupe

[Banana-Man]

Also they make the Audi A4 as a convertible - I'm sure this could also be done too. - afteral its the same car essentially.

[Banana-Man]

OK then I will.

The last time I contacted VW or VAG was when I was studying Marketing at college. I did a project on relaunch of the Mk1 Golf Gti.

My argument was that the prices of older Golfs has gone up not down and their is a clear market for re-launching the Mk1 or Mk2. They came back to me and said they liked the idea and they still did have the tooling for the Golf Mk1 & Mk2 but they would have to make investigation into road safety issues.

I contacted them back at the time and said well I've just MOT'd my Mk1 Golf GTi and the VOSA certificated test station didn't say it was unsafe - so I asked them if my Golf was unsafe, and did they want to recall all the Golf GTi Mk1's in the world? on this assumption

They actually did re-release and re-launch the Golf Mk1 in limited numbers several years ago. They made a right pigs ear of things those. They only rebuilt the bodies in a 4 door hatch and a lame engine setup. Still it was a good exercise and they really did re-launch it.

Remember if you see Skoda launching a 2 door coupe or a convertible you heard about it here first.

Edited 14 December, 2008 by Banana-Man

[kriswithak]

OK then I will.

The last time I contacted VW or VAG was when I was studying Marketing at college. I did a project on relaunch of the Mk1 Golf Gti.

My argument was that the prices of older Golfs has gone up not down and their is a clear market for re-launching the Mk1 or Mk2. They came back to me and said they liked the idea and they still did have the tooling for the Golf Mk1 & Mk2 but they would have to make investigation into road safety issues.

I contacted them back at the time and said well I've just MOT'd my Mk1 Golf GTi and the VOSA certificated test station didn't say it was unsafe - so I asked them if my Golf was unsafe, and did they want to recall all the Golf GTi Mk1's in the world? on this assumption

They actually did re-release and re-launch the Golf Mk1 in limited numbers several years ago. They made a right pigs ear of things those. They only rebuilt the bodies in a 4 door hatch and a lame engine setup. Still it was a good exercise and they really did re-launch it.

And still do. the 1.3 Citigolf in South Africa.

Volkswagen Citi Golf - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Banana-Man]

Thanks for that I wondered whether they were still making it somewhere.

It was no coincidence that after I put my project together when I was at South Downs College they started to put some funding together for this idea and goto some meetings at get it up and running.

I did get a gift pack and a letter from VW in Germany saying thanks and all that jazz.

[Guest]

This will never happen.

1) It would never sell in sufficient enough numbers to make it financially viable for Skoda.

2) Skoda aren't particularly innovative anyway, with perhaps the exception of the Roomster.

[Banana-Man]

This will never happen.

1) It would never sell in sufficient enough numbers to make it financially viable for Skoda.

2) Skoda aren't particularly innovative anyway, with perhaps the exception of the Roomster.

Your obviously not an historian I take it. I will bring you up to speed with Skoda's innovative history

Skoda are a car manufacturer who are over 100 years old. Now bearing in mind in 1885 Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz were the pioneers of motorcar and engine engineering. This make Skoda one of the first Auto Works.

Skoda made all sorts of innovative stuff before and during WW1 & WW2. As war broke out they turned their engineering expertise to make artillery, Tanks and Planes.

First World War Dreadnaught the Virbus Unitis - Guns made in Skodas Pilsen Works - these guns later used for coastal artillery in italy when ship was scrapped

Skoda Kauba Ram Jet Plane

In fact they are only just about understanding the power of Ram Jet technologies to put into space flight now - Skoda were looking at this technology in the 1940's

Skoda have played a large and successful part in motorsport and were World Rally Champs many times.

1949 Grand Prix Racecar

1964 Formula 3 Racecar

1980's WRC

And then Octavia's have gone from this 1964 Octavia

To this - the 2008 Octavia

I think Skoda are very innovative - and there would be nothing wrong with a 2 door Octavia RS or convertible. All car manufacturers are going to have to re-thing their pricing and financing structure anyway due to the demize of GM, Ford and others. VAG group has a very solid base of customers and I am 100% certain that a 2 door Octavia would sell well especially if Audi followed suite and produced the Audi Coupe again based on the A4.

The viability is another issue and selling in great numbers is secondary. You have the basic car and would have to make subtle changes to existing structure.

When VW designed the Bugatti Veron they lost a fortune on every car they sold. but they remain an icon of motoring history non the less. the numbers made and sold were not worth them doing it, but they did to prove they could.

Edited 14 December, 2008 by Banana-Man

[Johnwg]

That's you told Jonno my son

[flynntech]

Audi have an A4 coupe. Its called the A5

[Banana-Man]

Audi have an A4 coupe. Its called the A5

Your right!

Audi UK > New Cars > A5

Those sneaky Germans!

Well it's easy then for Skoda to do it then.

[mr_awol]

A two door Octavia would be nice - wouldnt want no half arsed effort looking like they'd just welded the back doors up though. Longer, sweeping doors and perhaps alter the rear roof line to make it an actual coupe shape - nice

Always fancied a Peugeot 406 coupe and think the Octavia could follow their line - bring out a coupe octavia with a 3 litre V6 and away we go

[Tech1e]

Also they make the Audi A4 as a convertible - I'm sure this could also be done too. - afteral its the same car essentially.

As what, the Octavia II? No it aint, completely different type of chassis.

[Tech1e]

They make Seat Leon's as 2 door cars as standard,]

5 door only. No 2 door Leon MK1 or 2.

[Banana-Man]

5 door only. No 2 door Leon MK1 or 2.

Clever clogs

It's an idea of course Mr Lummox

I am sure them German / Czech boffins can make it - I am not saying I am going to make it in my garage or anything

[Banana-Man]

A two door Octavia would be nice - wouldnt want no half arsed effort looking like they'd just welded the back doors up though. Longer, sweeping doors and perhaps alter the rear roof line to make it an actual coupe shape - nice

Always fancied a Peugeot 406 coupe and think the Octavia could follow their line - bring out a coupe octavia with a 3 litre V6 and away we go

If you had noticed - I did make the front doors longer than standard

Compare

[chavdarlk]

I'd prefer Superb CC

[James_H]

The 2-door does look good. However, I can't see there being a big market for it. One of the reasons I went for the Octavia over its smaller Golf cousin was the extra practicality.

Don't rule it out for the future though. Skoda have had a play with this sort of thing before, with the Tudor concept from 2002. It was effectively a Superb coupe. I couldn't easily find a Google image link except from an old sniffpetrol page, which I will not a link to because of its style.

[Banana-Man]

It looks really cool that Tudor.

So if it can be done and it looks fairly sound aesthetically and has got a really big boot and stonking handling - it's should be a go-er

James_H - your not the Buggy Man, you know "the Famous one" wink wink

[James_H]

James_H - your not the Buggy Man, you know "the Famous one" wink wink

You've lost me there, so afraid not.

[Banana-Man]

That's what the wink wink was for!

Your not James Hale the VW Beach Buggy guy from the magazine VW Ultra then I take it? I emailed you several weeks ago about a Beach buggy project I'm doing.

James Hale is the UK's top man in the VW & Beach Buggy scene

[Guest]

Your obviously not an historian I take it. I will bring you up to speed with Skoda's innovative history

Perhaps I should have said 'not very innovative in recent history, apart from a yellow vRS'. A few pictures of some old cars and artillery prove nothing when it comes to designing and manufacturing an Octavia Coupe.

I'm sorry but if you think this will ever happen you're kidding yourself

Edited 16 December, 2008 by Guest
Please lets not quote massive posts!

[fluffmeister]

In Jonno's defence I would hazard a guess that Skoda will be held back in certain area's because VAG as a whole already has many of the bases covered through the other Marques, and while initially being a VAG product has helped Skoda immensely, especially in shaking off the Communist era stigma attached to the brand, I can't help but think they may getting held back at times in their "creativity"

[VRSPhil]

I can't see it happening because I think the market would be so tiny, it wouldn't be viable. I think different manufacturers are able to 'pull off' a certain type of car, and given that a coupe or cabrio is likely to cost several thousand pounds more than the standard car it's based on, I think they would price it out of the market.

I do think it's a little unfair to say Skoda are not innovative in recent years, given the Roomster and Superb II

[Guest]

In Jonno's defence I would hazard a guess that Skoda will be held back in certain area's because VAG as a whole already has many of the bases covered through the other Marques, and while initially being a VAG product has helped Skoda immensely, especially in shaking off the Communist era stigma attached to the brand, I can't help but think they may getting held back at times in their "creativity"

Absolutely, two door coupes will be found in the Audi and VW range but are unlikely to be found in the Skoda range (or Seat come to that).

In 2008 Skoda aren't positioned within the VAG group to be innovative. They have a range of 4 very good models, none of which could be described as innovative though (except possibly the Roomster).

Edited 14 December, 2008 by Guest