Laurin & Klement models: cars with tradition and a touch of luxury

Before the Škoda name change in 1925, cars from the motor works in Mladá Boleslav were named after its founders: Laurin & Klement. Today this designation is used for the most exclusive versions of Škoda cars.

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The latest additions to the Laurin & Klement family of cars are the electric Enyaq Laurin & Klement and Enyaq Coupé Laurin & Klement, which Škoda launched in May. These are special for several reasons, not least because they usher in some technical improvements that will also appear on other versions of Škoda’s electric SUV.

Laurin & Klement versions of the Škoda Enyaq and Enyaq Coupé

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The Laurin & Klement versions, however, are all about their specific design and high-end equipment. This includes comfort features such as heated and ventilated front seats with massage function and other features not available in other Enyaq versions. Inside, customers can choose from the L&K Shell trim version with beige leather upholstery or the L&K Black version with black leather upholstery.

Elegance and harmony

The car’s exterior and interior design has been endowed with an array of luxurious details: for example, the illuminated Crystal Face bonnet with 131 LEDs has a chrome frame, and features such as the mirror covers and details on the bumpers and diffuser are finished in the exclusive Platinum Grey colour. “These details and others in the interior give the Enyaq L&K models a deluxe and very harmonious feel,” says Markéta Kalíková, a designer from the Color & Trim team.

Interiors of the Škoda Enyaq Laurin & Klement and Škoda Enyaq Coupé Laurin & Klement

This deluxe elegance and harmony is something the designers of Laurin & Klement models pay closest attention to. “The designer has to approach every trim component with the same passion and rules. Each trim level uses different materials for the seats, door panels and decor parts. The higher the trim level, the more valuable materials we can use, with the best reserved for the L&K design versions, of course. At the same time, there’s a little more scope to incorporate more different details such as lettering, embroidery and stitching,” Kalíková says, outlining how the most luxurious versions of Škoda models differ from others in terms of design philosophy.

In cars with the Laurin & Klement designation we thus find top-quality materials, the Laurin & Klement logo on the seats (which is currently done by embroidery), the logo on the steering wheel, special decorative parts in the doors and on the dashboard, logos on the car’s exterior, and even wheels with an exclusive design. “When designing these details, we take inspiration from specific cars and elements that were used in the distant past as well as more modern Škoda L&K cars from recent decades,” Markéta Kalíková explains.

A rich history

In addition to its electric SUVs, Škoda now offers top-of-the-range Laurin & Klement versions for its more traditional flagship models, the Kodiaq SUV and the Superb combi and liftback. The Superb is one of the most traditional Laurin & Klement models in this respect, with this exclusive trim level available on every generation of the car produced to date. The first Laurin & Klement Superb was rolled out in 2006, and this version is also available in current fourth-generation Superb. Of the SUVs, the Yeti was the first to receive the Laurin & Klement trim, and was made in this version from 2012 to 2017.

Laurin & Klement versions of the Škoda Superb and Škoda Kodiaq

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The Octavia has the richest history with Laurin & Klement equipment of any current Škoda model range. The Octavia was launched in a Laurin & Klement version back in 1999. The L&K trim was then available for the Octavia until 2020, the end of the third generation.

Interior of the Laurin & Klement version of the third-generation Škoda Octavia

The very first car to be made in Laurin & Klement trim was the Felicia, in both its hatchback and combi versions. The Felicia Laurin & Klement was unveiled to the world in 1995 and, like the model itself, which was already developed under the Volkswagen Group, it showed the Czech carmaker’s ambition to grow in literally every respect. The Felicia Laurin & Klement had truly exceptional equipment – for example, it was the first modern Škoda car with leather upholstery, which has been typical of L&K versions ever since.