- Vocational School students transform Superb into cycling support vehicle.
- Ute-like expandable loading area for racing bikes, sliding right rear door.
- L&K 130 name and colour scheme pay homage to the earliest days of the company.
The 10th Škoda Student Car pays homage to the earliest days of the company, as a cycling specialist.
It's become a tradition at the Skoda Vocational School for students to end the year by creating a concept vehicle, based on a current production model. This year, 28 students transformed a Superb estate into a cycling support vehicle with extensive modifcations, including an expandable sliding load area and bespoke sliding side door.
The one-off "L&K 130" and its special colour scheme pay homage to Škoda Auto’s 130-year history, which began in 1895 with the production of bicycles. Later, company founders Václav Laurin and Václav Klement also began designing and manufacturing motorbikes and cars under the L&K brand name.
The Vocational trainees invested more than 2000 working hours in the planning, development and production of the L&K 130. It is the first Student Car to be based on the Superb estate and the first to feature a plug-in hybrid powertrain.
How the Superb was transformed
The vehicle has been trandformed into a ute. It features a new rear window behind the rear seats separating the interior from the open loading area. It comes with an integrated bike carrier mechanism for transporting spare bikes.
The classic gold, red and black Laurin & Klement logo is used on the bonnet, hubcaps and steering wheel. The exterior and interior designs also feature large areas coloured gold, red and black. In addition to the paintwork, there is also a backlit grille mask with LEDs that can assume any colour within the RGB spectrum. The final design was selected from dozens of sketches produced by students.
The students cut off the estate car’s roof behind the C-pillars, reinforced the remaining parts of the passenger cabin, modified the B- and C-pillars and shortened the roof rails.
They also designed a new rear wall for the passenger compartment, complete with a rear window positioned behind the second row of seats. The right rear door is equipped with a completely new lever sliding mechanism, which the students designed in close co-operation with experts from the company’s development department.
When the door is opened, it does not interfere with the track – as the door does not swing outwards, it can be opened safely at any moment, even with cyclists approaching and overtaking the support vehicle.
Race-ready bikes
The original luggage compartment has been replaced by a new, low-slung cargo bed. At the touch of a button, this can be extended rearwards together with the new tailgate, using a unique rack-and-pinion mechanism. This makes it easier to unload a spare bike for a cyclist during a race if required.
Two standard bike racks from the Škoda Genuine Accessories range are installed on the platform. When the platform is retracted along with the tailgate, the carriers with the bikes tilt upwards at an angle of 35 degrees, so the vehicle has the same length as the original Superb estate. A roof rack provides space for a third bicycle.
The interior is also dominated by the classic L&K colours of red, white, gold and black, with a “130 years” logo embroidered into the covers of the front seats.
An additional display on the passenger side of the dashboard shows data required to support cycle racers. A radio is installed for communication within the team.
A large cool box holding water bottles replaces the left-rear seat. The 12-volt battery has found its place behind the rear seats. A large storage net under the cabin’s roof lining serves to hold small items such as energy bars or bandages.
The service technician positioned on the right-hand rear seat also has their own display on the back of the front passenger seat.
The students have produced numerous new equipment details using 3D printing technology. For example, the brackets for the storage net under the roof come from the 3D printer, as do the logos.
Škoda is still a long‑standing supporter of major international cycling events, including the Tour de France. The Škoda L&K 130 will be on show this summer at the 112th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 5 to 27 July 2025.
The history of the Vocational School is long in itself, dating back to 1927. It's now part of the Škoda Academy, which opened in 2013. Having started with 58 students in its first year, it has seen over 24,000 graduates pass through its doors to date.
The history of the Škoda Student Cars
Ever since the launch of the Škoda Vocational School’s flagship project in the 2013/14 school year, students have planned, developed and built Student Cars on an annual basis.
The only two breaks were caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021 and the remodelling of the Škoda Academy workshops in 2024.
- Škoda Citijet (2014): open-top model based on the Škoda Citigo.
- Škoda Funstar (2015): pick-up based on the Škoda Fabia.
- Škoda Atero (2016): "emotional coupé" version of the Rapid Spaceback.
- Škoda Element (2017): the first electric Student Car.
- Škoda Sunroq (2018): SUV convertible created from the Karoq.
- Škoda Mountiaq (2019): pick-up concept based on the Kodiaq.
- Škoda Slavia (2020): spider based on the Škoda Scala.
- Škoda Afriq (2022): Kamiq as 4×4 rally car, a collaboration with Škoda Motorsport.
- Škoda Roadiaq (2023): EV mobile office camper for digital nomads, based on Enyaq.
