For several months now, 20 apprentices from the ŠKODA vocational school have been working on the seventh student concept car with great commitment and creativity, a spider version of the new compact model ŠKODA SCALA. Throughout this project, the up-and-coming talent will receive support from engineers and experienced employees from the areas of technical development, design and production at ŠKODA’s headquarters in Mladá Boleslav.
The apprentices will be using the new compact model SCALA, which was introduced at the end of 2018, and which plays an important role in the Czech manufacturer’s product range. The students have expressed a wish to make the car’s clear lines and emotive shapes more prominent in the spider version to emphasise the vehicle’s overall dynamics.
The vocational students’ visit to the ŠKODA Design department in Mladá Boleslav was an important step on the way to the official presentation of the unique vehicle, which is yet to receive a name, in June 2020. During the visit, they were allowed to look over the shoulder of Head Designer Oliver Stefani and his team in their day-to-day work and to create their own drawings of the next Student Car with the support of the experts. “Despite the increasing use of computers and simulations, drawing is still an essential part of automotive designers’ work. With every stroke, an idea turns into something real. A sketch is the first of many steps on the long and exciting path to a new car,” explains Oliver Stefani, Head of ŠKODA Design.
In creating their first drafts and sketches, the students received help and valuable tips from all ŠKODA Design employees, and they won over the professionals with their enthusiasm and receptiveness. “From the beginning, all the participants showed great enthusiasm and determination. Their sketches are very impressive, I really like the concept,” says Jiří Hadaščok, exterior design coordinator at ŠKODA.
The annual ŠKODA Student Car project demonstrates the high quality of training at the ŠKODA vocational school in Mladá Boleslav, which has been in existence for more than 90 years. Designing a concept vehicle and then building it by hand is the highlight of all apprenticeships. “We are all delighted to be part of this project. As a student, where else do you get the chance to put your own ideas and vision into designing a car and then actually build it yourself? Drawing our first sketches was lots of fun, and we learned a lot from Oliver Stefani and his team,” says Vojtěch Špitálský.
Building a ŠKODA Student Car has been a tradition since 2014. Since then, students from the ŠKODA vocational school in Mladá Boleslav have been able to plan, design and build a spectacular concept vehicle themselves. Each of these concept vehicles demonstrates the creativity and commitment of ŠKODA’s young talent. The ŠKODA Storyboard offer stories of four students involved in previous projects as well as an overview of all previous ŠKODA student concept cars.
