Can you imagine one of the most well-known carmakers going against the grain and creating a motorcycle? Well, readers, it really has happened, and in this instance, that automaker is Skoda. However, it may surprise you to know that this isn’t the company’s first crack at making two-wheelers, and that before it entered the car business, it actually sold bicycles and motorcycles under the Laurin and Klement name.
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The concept motorcycle is a modern-day tribute to the Laurin and Klement Slavia B (pictured above), brought to life by Skoda designer Romain Bucaille
One of the designers at Skoda, Romain Bucaille, has gone all out and created a modern-day reinterpretation of one of the company’s most iconic motorcycles from over a century ago. The name? Slavia. However, this isn’t a reference to the Slavia sedan that Skoda retails in the Indian market, but a tribute to the Laurin and Klement Slavia B, one of the company’s first motorcycles. Bucaille states that he was compelled to design the concept after wondering what the Slavia B would look like today, in the era of Skoda’s Modern Solid design language
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The concept retains the simplistic design of the original motorcycle
The Slavia B has now been reimagined as an electric cafe racer, of all things, with ultra-futuristic styling. The concept retains the simplistic nature of the original motorcycle. Styling cues on the motorcycle include a horizontal LED headlamp, a wide fuel tank, low-set handlebar, and a floating seat. Another nice touch is the leather tool bag nestled underneath the seat. The engine bay area of the old motorcycle, where the engine was incorporated inside the frame, has now been left empty, featuring a floating Laurin and Klement logo.
The original motorcycle was equipped with a 240 cc engine that made 1.75 horsepower and a top speed of 40 kmph
While this has been envisioned as an electric concept, the original motorcycle was equipped with a 240 cc air-cooled single-cylinder engine with an output of 1.75 horsepower and a top speed of 40 kmph. Miniscule figures by today’s standards, but good enough to take part in a race back then.
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Having debuted in 1899, the Slavia B took part in a highly publicised long-distance race
The Laurin and Klement Slavia B debuted in 1899. The motorcycle was the brainchild of founders Václav Laurin and Václav Klement, both of whom had a penchant for racing. It then went on to take part in one of the most widely publicised events at the time, a long-distance race from Paris via Aachen and Hanover to Berlin. The race spanned 1196 kilometres and took place over the course of three days. A rather infamous event, the terrain consisted of unpaved roads and cobblestones, which in the end, led to a massive 57 accidents that cost the lives of 28 people and left 29 more with serious injuries.
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A photo of Narcis Podsedníček riding the Slavia B
However, against all odds, the works rider, Narcis Podsedníček, previously a sales representative with the company, reached Berlin first in his class on the Laurin & Klement motorcycle. However, in a rather sad turn of events, his victory wasn't acknowledged by the organisers of the race as no race commissioners were on duty when he crossed the line at 3:00 AM. However, the moral victory led to wide publicity for the manufacturer, which in the end, sold 540 units of the Slavia B in Mladá Boleslav by 1904.
