Skoda reinvents an old Favorit

The year 1989 was significant in the history of the Czech Republic – or Czechoslovakia, as it was still known at the time. As Soviet-era control over Eastern Europe began to falter, and little more than a week after the Berlin Wall fell, popular demonstrations against communist rule saw more than half a million people calling for change on the streets of Prague alone. Beginning on the 17th of November, by the 28th of November the popular uprising that came to be known as the Velvet Revolution brought a peaceful end to four decades of Communist rule.

Coincidentally, 1989 was also the year the UK finally got to benefit from a ground-breaking new car: the Skoda Favorit.

And if you’re old enough to remember Eastern European cars of the late 1980s....no, we’re not joking…the Skoda Favorit actually sold very well in Western Europe, largely due to its simplicity, reliability, and low price.

When it was first introduced, the Favorit marked a significant turning point for Škoda. Developed under the challenging conditions of the Iron Curtain and with limited resources, the Favorit was a remarkable engineering achievement—combining an attractive design courtesy of Nuccio Bertone, and a host of practical features that brought it international acclaim.

The Favorit proved to be one of Europe’s most popular cars.

It’s credited with laying the foundation for the Czech brand’s transformation into a global automotive brand, catching the eye of Volkswagen in the process. In 1990, after decades of state ownership, VW became the chosen partner of the Czech government to help shepherd Skoda through the process of privatisation, ultimately becoming an integral part of the Volkswagen Group in 2000.

Which makes it a fitting choice that the iconic Favorit from the late 1980s has now been reimagined, emerging as an all-electric concept deeply rooted in Skoda’s automotive history.

While it retains recognisable influences from the original, this Favorit feels wholly modern rather than some retro throwback for the sake of nostalgia, as its designer, Ljudmil Slavov confirmed,

“I didn’t want to rely on current design elements like the Tech-Deck Face,” Slavov explains. “This is a tribute to the Favorit, so I carefully studied the original details, aiming to evolve and elevate them. Simplifying an already minimalistic shape into the Modern Solid style was genuinely challenging.”

Now, Skoda freely admits that this new take on the old Favorit isn’t intended for production. It’s intended to highlight Skoda’s proud history and showcase how tradition and innovation will continue to influence the brand’s future direction.

That being said, the old Skoda Favorit was a remarkably popular car, and there’s a lot to like about the idea of a new, all-electric version.....so there’s nothing stopping you letting Skoda know you’d like one, and maybe it will make it into production after all.