Scala-based Skoda Slavia Spider introduced as the seventh student concept car

KUALA LUMPUR: Skoda Scala, the brand’s first real shot at the highly competitive C-segment, is trending these days for getting a spider version. However, it is not for production, but just for showcase. Recently, the automaker has officially introduced a unique concept car made by the Skoda Academy students based on the Scala hatchback.

Dubbed as Skoda Slavia, the open-top roadster is completely built by the students. Getting into the details, a team of twenty-six boys and five girls from the Skoda Academy took part in the annual AZUBI project to create a concept car based on one of the Skoda’s mass-produced models.

This is the seventh concept car to be produced by the students of Skoda Academy. It pays homage to the company’s 125th anniversary by commemorating the ‘Slavia’ moniker used for the first range of bicycles produced by Skoda founders - Václav Laurin and Václav Klement.

During the transformation, the team stripped off the roof, three seats, and three doors of Scala, and gave it dual air scoops, a front splitter, and a rear spoiler instead. The body received a White Crystal Blue paint with Black Magic accents. 

The badges and detailing of the car glow in the dark, thanks to a phosphorescent pigment used. The programmable LEDs, positioned below the side sills and carried over behind the alloy wheels, provide user-configurable dynamic exterior ambient lighting in blue, red, and white – the three colors of the Czech flag. 

Just like Scala, the students’ Slavia spider features precise lines and sharply defined edges that portrays an exciting and sporty look. The car is powered by a four-cylinder 1.5 litre TSI spark-ignition engine, which generates 150 PS of power, sent to the wheels via a seven-speed DSG gearbox. 

Other things taken from the Scala comprise axles, the steering system, and the complete electrics, including cabling, and assistance systems. Not only this, but the virtual cockpit, instrument panel, as well as the infotainment system are identical to the standard hatchback; however, the interior’s ambient lighting comes as an innovative feature.

Alois Kauer, Head of the Skoda Academy, says, “The Student Car is the ŠKODA vocational school’s annual flagship project. For the seventh year running, our students are demonstrating the high standard of our in-house training by planning, designing, and building an impressive one-off car. We enable them to design their dream car, working with professionals from our various departments. As a result, their training already familiarises them with processes that will become part of their working lives later on, when they graduate from our vocational school and embark on a career in our company.”

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