For a company best known today for pragmatic family cars and SUVs, Skoda has turned unexpectedly nostalgic. Its design team has unveiled a concept that revives one of its most cherished models, the 1970s 110 R Coupé, but with an entirely modern electric spin.
The original 110 R, a coupe from behind the Iron Curtain, may not be common knowledge, even among car enthusiasts. Short in power, the small sports car didn’t leave an everlasting trace in the automotive industry. Built between 1970 and 1980 in what was then Czechoslovakia, the rear-engined two-door produced just over 60 horsepower from a modest 1.1-liter four-cylinder engine.
Yet its lightweight body, distinctive proportions, and racing derivatives such as the celebrated 130 RS secured it cult status. Imagine being a driver in Eastern Europe at the time. This was your attainable dream car, a symbol of aspiration in an era of limited choices.
Not the retro route
That page from Skoda’s history has now been revisited by Richard Švec, a young designer who joined Skoda after a stint at Italdesign. He’s a confessed admirer of the 110 R, but in bringing it back to life, he resisted the temptation to replicate its lines. “I didn’t want to take the retro route,” he has said.
Instead, Švec sought to translate the coupe’s character into a design language he describes as geometric, elegant, and unmistakably contemporary. What emerged from Švec’s desk is a sleek, low-slung coupé that bears only a passing resemblance to the somewhat bland-looking original. The roofline ends in a fastback tail, the surfaces are downscaled to a simplicity reminiscent of the Audi TT, and details nod to motorsport heritage.
Prominent wheel arches, centre-lock alloys, a subtle roll cage, and a ribbed bonnet are deliberate echoes of the 130 RS racer. But they remain echoes as the design oozes modernity. And it remains functional. The body incorporates intakes behind the doors – a playful reference to the petrol-powered 110 R’s engine vents, but in this case they are repurposed to cool an ‘imagined’ battery pack.
All speculation underneath
Although the 110 R Concept is a nod to the past, the entire package features 2025 technology. Traditional mirrors are replaced with cameras, while the lights are concealed behind panels that slide open only when needed.
At the nose, a black panel integrates sensors, vertical LED running lights, and a glowing Skoda badge. A similar illuminated logo dominates the rear, flanked by slim concealed lamps. Even the wheels and side windows carry the brand’s modern insignia, underscoring the company’s new ‘Modern Solid’ design philosophy.
Underneath, it’s all speculation. Skoda has offered no performance data, admitting the car lives only on a computer screen, but it has been outlined for a fully electric driveline. Looking at the firm’s current MEB architecture, which is capable of around 280 horsepower, this compact EV coupé could deliver far more excitement than its 61-horsepower ancestor ever managed.
For now, the 110 R revival is part of Skoda’s internal ‘Icons Get a Makeover’ series, which allows designers to reimagine heritage models without the burden of production planning. In other words, there is no prospect of this coupé reaching showrooms.
Still, its reception has been striking. Media and fans alike have urged Skoda to build it. But however welcome this variety may be to a market awash with upright crossovers, the potential for an all-electric sports car currently remains as low as Eastern drivers had access to Western cars back in the days of this charming coupe.
