© Skoda
VW's electric MEB platform could underpin such a vehicle, but will Skoda ever get another MPV?
Even though Skodas were sold in Canada for a time, odds are you haven't seen a 1203 van in real life unless you've been to Eastern Europe when these small vans were new. But the 1203 was Czechoslovakia's most widely used utility vehicle of the 20th century, having debuted in 1968 and sticking around well into the late 1990s. Offered in many different configurations-from a fire truck to an ambulance to a flatbed truck-the 1203 was a common sight on the roads of many countries in Eastern Europe, rolling alongside RAF and UAZ vans.
And now it's gotten a modern makeover thanks to Skoda designer Daniel Hájek, who was inspired to sketch what new 1203 could look like, having had a 1203 in the family. Hájek imagined how a modern 1203 might look like riding on parent-company Volkswagen's Transporter platform, in the form of a Westfalia-style camper van.
"We have a flatbed version like that in the garden of my grandparents' house, but it's not roadworthy any more," Hájek says, adding that"it was kind of my first car, we used it on our farm, and when I was 15 they let me start the engine now and then and drive it around the field."
© Skoda
The original was powered by an inline-four engine sitting just behind the front axle.
The original 1203 vans were powered by 1.2-liter water-cooled inline-four engines coupled with four-speed and later five-speed manual transmissions, with the engine located just behind the front axle, sitting in between and below the two front seats. The engines produced just under 50 hp, which was plenty for the small vans in the country at the time.
© Hearst Owned
Sign up for our new weekly EV newsletter, State of Charge.SIGN UP HERE "The original 1203 is relatively narrow," he adds."Modern cars are much broader, and what's more, I was trying to come up with a way to reference the headlights, which were the same on the 1203 as on the 1000 MB."
Even though he based the 1203 concept sketch on the Transporter platform, Hájek's vision could be battery-electric as well, using a larger version of the MEB platform that will soon underpin the production ID.Buzz>>>P. But his vision of the 1203 stays close to the original's utilitarian roots-it doesn't even feature an infotainment system. That's a bit of a surprise since Hájek actually worked on vehicle dashes and infotainment systems since joining Skoda in 2016, but when it comes to the 1203, he prefers a more spartan look, with the driver relying on a standalone tablet or smartphone to control some vehicle functions. His concept still has an instrument panel behind the steering wheel, in a nod to the original, but the sole controls on the dash are rotary knobs at the center.
© Skoda
The 1203 has been sketched as a camper van.
If you feel this concept is better suited to an electric platform, you're not alone.
"An electric car would allow for an even better use of space," Hájek says.
Could Skoda actually field an MPV based on this sketch using the MEB platform?
VW would have to make some decisions regarding MPVs across its brands, as in the past 30 years only the Volkswagen and SEAT brands have produced large vans-in VW's case, the Transporter, Sharan, and Routan, while SEAT had the Alhambra.
Skoda>>>P, on the other hand, had focused on sedans and hatchbacks until very recently, venturing into crossovers. Audi has stayed away from this bodystyle almost entirely, only fielding the A2 mini-MPV two decades ago.
So a Skoda-branded MPV would not be the most expected product, but with the growth of the MEB-platform cars, we wouldn't rule it out long-term.
© Fluger René
Hájek had a 1203 flatbed truck in the family, but it has since retired.
For now, Hájek's 1203 is just a sketch, but given the fact that VW has already green-lit the ID.Buzz, the automaker has shown some predilection to reimagining its classics.
Will electric MPVs see as much success as other body styles, or will we mostly see sedans and SUVs go electric in the new decade? Let us know in the comments below.