This clip has some design pics in it, if you open the link and get to 26 seconds, you will see the roof line comes down at a nicer angle and iic the rear door window is lower but longer.

YouTube - The all-new Skoda Superb

Yeah, I agree, that's the difference between prototype design school cars and the real thing. Also - as nice as the wheels are on that car at 26 seconds, imagine how long they would last? and how bad they would be to run on?

If that is how it had looked, I would have saved and bought one of those!!!

Yeah, I agree, that's the difference between prototype design school cars and the real thing. Also - as nice as the wheels are on that car at 26 seconds, imagine how long they would last? and how bad they would be to run on?

I didn't really mean the 30 inch alloys and rubber bands it was the roof line that looks so much better in the vid.

And here's how it was:

Skoda 860 Cabrio 1929

Skoda 860 1929 - 1934

Skoda Superb 1938

Skoda Superb 1934 - 1936

Here's the badge as a radiator ornament:

Here's an extract from a book my dealer gave me:

The 860 - which was built with a variety of limousine, laundaulette and cabriolet bodies - had the desired effect by focusing attention on the brand and highlighting other models in the new-look range. Of these, the 430 (four cylinders, 30 bhp) was proving of great interest to Czech's middle-classes, the people to whom the Press of the time referred as 'those who drive themselves.'

But as Europe moved from the Twenties into the Thirties, trouble loomed in the form of the Depression. In an attempt to help the distilleries and industry weather the storm, the Czech government decreed that every litre of petrol should contain 20-25 per cent alcohol. This inevitably resulted in a rise in the price of fuel. Worse, more was needed as the concoction increased consumption and lowered performance. Things got no better. The rise in private car and taxi usage was deemed responsible for a downturn in fortunes for the state-subsidised railway. The 'solution'? Tax the automobile heavily.

At a stroke sales fell. In 1931 more than 14,000 new vehicles were sold in the country, but just two years later that had fallen to fewer than 9,000. Worse, additional vehicles were taken off the road by owners who could no longer afford to run them. The answer was clear. Skoda responded by developing the Popular 420, the smallest Skoda ever, which was launched in 1933. A year later came the even smaller Popular 418, powered by a 903cc 18 bhp motor. The die was cast and the company was set on the path of developing small, popular cars for the people.

But old habits die hard. At the same time as the cheap 418 was shown to a car-starved public, Skoda revealed the expensive Superb 640. Powered by a six-cylinder engine developing not 40 but 55 bhp, the first appearance of the Superb name was carried on a car with an advanced chassis created around a strong central tube, hydraulic brakes and independent suspension.

Once again, sales were never going to be huge, but the original Superb clearly inspired the design team to attempt even greater things... though common sense prevailed before too much development money was spent on a super-luxurious 12-cylinder version.

Ray.

Edited 29 December, 200817 yr by Argee

Can you buy that book? and if so name etc please. seems a interesting read!

James.

Can you buy that book?

I doubt it. It's called "Skoda Superb - Innovation and Design" and I think it was designed as a coffee-table book-type press release.

Dealers may know more, but I can't find it listed anywhere.

It has been mentioned here, but is not currently listed. HTH.

Ray.

Send an e-mail to Skoda in the Czech republic, and ask for a copy. They were quite happy to send me a copy, and didn't ask for a penny.

Bagpuss.