80 YEARS AGO
80
years have passed from the
long-distance drive that led
the ŠKODA RAPID and its
crew around the world. On the 97-day trip involving 44 days of driving Břetislav Jan Procházka and Jindřich Kubias managed to drive
630 kilometres per day on average, demonstrating the robustness of the ŠKODA model.
Long-distance travels of the ŠKODA RAPID
and ŠKODA POPULAR stretching over 52,000
kilometres drew global attention.
“The world tour undertaken by Břetislav Jan
Procházka and Jindřich Kubias demanded a
great deal of the men and the car,” explains
Andrea Frydlová, Head of the ŠKODA Museums. “The success of the trip highlights the
high performance and build quality of ŠKODA
vehicles even at that time. With their trip
around the globe in the 1930s, Procházka and
Kubias made a significant contribution to making the ŠKODA brand popular worldwide.”
The SKODA Rapid represented a
larger and more spacious alternative
to ‘people’s’ Popular. It was produced
also as too-door convertible
The world tour began in Prague on 25 April
1936. The 27,700km ŠKODA RAPID expedition was led by the Prague entrepreneur
Břetislav Jan Procházka (1897-1971). In the
co-pilot’s seat was Jindřich Kubias (19091967). During their adventure the duo put their
trust in a slightly adjusted ŠKODA RAPID with
central tube frame equipped with a 1.4l and
23kW (31 HP) four-cylinder.
The car boasted independent wheel suspension and even hydraulic brakes. It proved
to be the right choice also off the road, with
most of the road network consisting of gravel tracks back then. The round-the-world trip
took 97 days in total, out of which 53 days
were taken up by ship transport and customs
proceedings.