Skoda: Stuck on a historic joyride 🎥

In 1950, Škoda Auto experienced a special moment in the company's motorsport history: the only start of a Škoda model in the 24 Hours of Le Mans to date.

Hans-Joachim Stuck, who won twice with Porsche 35 years later, took the restored original for a test drive. "Strietzel" explains some background and impressions in the video with historical and current scenes.

Built for Le Mans
For the 1949 season, the Czech automaker had developed a special racing variant based on the Tudor. The Škoda Sport, an open two-seater, had a wheelbase shortened by 400 millimeters and a particularly flat pontoon body made of lightweight aluminum.

It made its debut at the Czechoslovak Grand Prix in Brno. The real goal, however, was to participate in Le Mans on June 24/25, 1950. The further developed version of the 1101 Sport was driven by Václav Bobek and Jaroslav Netušil. The car rolled on bias-ply tires from Barum.

The sensation seemed within reach
The long night at Le Mans was almost over and the Škoda team held steady in second place in the class up to 1100 cc. The French race car specialist Gordini had sent six cars into the race and still seemed to have no chance against the Czechs, whose sports car was assembled from the simplest of resources.

The water-cooled four-cylinder under the low front hood with an unchanged displacement of 1089 cc had a slightly higher compression ratio of 8.6:1 and a Solex carburetor. This increased the engine's output to 50 hp at 5200 rpm compared with the 32 hp standard engine.

Off with engine damage
With the racing fuel common at the time - a mix of gasoline, ethanol and acetone - the Škoda Sport reached a top speed of 140 km/h while consuming only twelve liters per 100 kilometers. Fully fueled and with those tools and spare parts on board that were to be used exclusively during a repair stop, it weighed in at 700 kilograms.

The race went smoothly for the Škoda duo until dawn. In the 115th lap the securing element of a connecting rod pin. Repair on the spot was not possible.

Faster than the first Porsche
Just how fast the Škoda Sport had been by then only became apparent the following year, when Porsche also made its Le Mans debut in the 1.1-liter class - the Porsche 356 lagged behind the Škoda in terms of lap times.

Over the next twelve years, the Škoda Sport completed about 80 more, mostly successful runs, but now domestically or in neighboring countries. A second body was built, and both cars received more powerful engines.

In the end, a carbureted version with 120 hp and a twin-compressor engine with a whopping 190 hp existed. In 1953, with some aerodynamic modifications, the Le Mans car achieved a Czech speed record in the class up to 1100 cc of 160.1 km/h.

Long lost and well preserved
Today, the Le Mans car is privately owned and in the best hands. Several generations of the owner's family worked in the Škoda Development and Body Department. Thus, Michal Velebný is the coordinator responsible for the restoration and maintenance of the vehicles in the Škoda Museum.

His grandfather was responsible for the body shape and left him the design plans with his signature.

Michal Velebný: "The car was considered lost for a long time. I only found it after a long period of detective work, talking to old drivers, mechanics and event organizers. It then took several more years before the car was fully operational again."

2021 Return to Le Mans
What is astonishing about its condition today is above all its high degree of faithfulness to the original. The drivers must have always been careful with the Škoda Sport, as the bodywork remained largely intact despite its extremely long racing career. This is evidenced, for example, by the holes in the bodywork for the start number lighting required at Le Mans at the time.

It will then be needed again in 2021: The racing rarity from Mladá Boleslav is scheduled to return to the famous circuit at the Le Mans Classic in July next year.

skoda.ch/company/history-racing

skoda-storyboard.com/en