ŠKODA SUPERB - 20 years of luxury ride

The ŠKODA SUPERB, the top model of the Mladá Boleslav-based car manufacturer, is celebrating its 20th anniversary: on 11 September 2001, the 4.80-metre notchback saloon with its spacious interior, powerful yet economical engines and numerous safety and comfort features made its debut at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt am Main. ŠKODA offers the current, third model generation as a hatchback or estate, optionally available also with all-wheel drive and as the SUPERB iV with plug-in hybrid drive. ŠKODA has a long tradition of producing mid-size and premium models. As early as 1907, twelve years after the founding of Laurin & Klement in Mladá Boleslav, the fledgling company launched the Type FF, a vehicle that offered true luxury. The eight-cylinder in-line engine was designed in-house, as were subsequent models with engines that were as powerful as they were smooth-running. These were also equipped with the innovative Knight slide control system among other features. Between 1925 and 1936, the ŠKODA Hispano-Suiza limousine was used by the then President of the Republic, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, along with numerous other prominent figures at the time. In the early 1930s, the car manufacturer from Mladá Boleslav offered a wide range of models with six-cylinder (ŠKODA 633, 645 and 650) or eight-cylinder engines (ŠKODA 860).