Octavia from the 1960s as the Voltavia electric station wagon and the crazy Project X

In France, two different Škoda Octavias with only electric drive were built. However, you would look in vain for similarities with the current fourth generation, as they are the so-called restomods of the original Octavia from the last century.

16. 1. 2025 eMobility

Škoda Auto´s French importer announced an unconventional Retrofit Challenge, in which participants had to find an original Škoda Octavia from 1959 to 1971, restore it and create a so-called electric restomod, i.e. remove the original powertrain and replace it with a purely electric one. Otherwise, the requirements were relatively loose, with a driving distance of at least 180 kilometres on a single charge and adherence to the set budget.

Project X and Voltavia

In the end, two projects were implemented. One resembles an American hot-rod, the other looks as if it came out of a Japanese anime. Both cars were created under the direction of the French motoring media in cooperation with suppliers of sports components.

Voltavia interior

Project X

Project X interior

The first is an elegant project called Voltavia, which is the result of the work of Automobile Propre, an online magazine focused on e-mobility. The Voltavia is based on the combi body variant and is built in accordance with French legislation, so its design is relatively low-key and the bodywork has undergone only a few modifications to optimize aerodynamics.

Voltavia

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The Explorer Green paintwork comes from the Skoda Vision 7S concept, which was unveiled in 2022. The interior is finished in contrasting orange, and to further enhance urban mobility, the boot houses an electric scooter. The power output of the electric motor is 102 horsepower and achieves a maximum torque of 220 Nm.

While Voltavia could theoretically actually drive on public roads, the second project from the TV show Turbo is much more extreme. The creators teamed up with the W-Autosport team and Strate School of Design, and the result, dubbed Project X, resembles a racing special. You probably wouldn't recognize its template at first glance, although connoisseurs will certainly detect the side silhouette of the saloon bodywork variant.

Project X

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Project X is a full 40 centimetres wider than the original car and offers 450 horsepower. Even more impressive is the torque, which reaches a maximum of 1,000 Nm. It took over a thousand hours to build the Project X. The creators have said that radicalism and emphasis on performance can also work in harmony with electrification. Their creation, covered in Mamba Green paint from the shade portfolio of current models in the Škoda RS family, is proof of that.