It’s a happy 50th to Skoda’s iconic 110 R sports car that made its debut at a  trade fair in Brno, Czech Republic half a century ago.

The elegant sports car with a rear engine was a huge sales success and served as the basis for the Czech car manufacturer’s legendary rally and racing cars and helped create the brand “as the Porsche of the East”.

The development of the 110 R, nicknamed ‘Erko’ in the Czech Republic, began in 1966, and in March 1968 the first prototype,

After its reveal at the trade fair, demand for the 110 R rose sharply, but the ramp-up of the brand’s production encountered problems due to the political conditions at the time. 

By the end of 1970, only 121 vehicles had been built, and it was not until the second quarter of 1971 that the first units of the coupé could be delivered to customers overseas. Subsequently, the Czech car manufacturer concentrated primarily on exports: of around 3000 units produced in 1971.

The 110R had a four-cylinder in-line engine equipped with an oil cooler generated an output of 38 kW.

The 110 R reached a top speed of 145 km/h, the sprint from zero to 100 km/h took 19 seconds.

The dashboard, which featured five round instruments, was initially released with wood panelling and was soon replaced by a matt-black finish. Behind the steering wheel rim, the driver could see the large tachometer, with the red zone starting at 5,750 rpm, and the adjacent speedometer, which was equally large. 

Skoda made an exciting new statement with the compact 110 R sports car and achieved considerable sales success with the vehicle on demanding export markets. In 1973, 93 per cent of the approximately 6000 coupés built were shipped outside of what was then Czechoslovakia. In the following year, production rose to around 7500 units. From September 1972,Skoda also exported a right-hand drive version and three years later, 2371 coupes or 36 per cent of the total number of vehicles exported went to customers in Great Britain. 

Some units of the 110 R even reached New Zealand, Kuwait and Nicaragua. In 1980, its final production year, exports were limited to the Yugoslav and Spanish markets.

And hey Skoda 110 R remember this, as they say 50 is the new 30, so go celebrate!

If you had a Skoda 110 R, we’d love to hear from you. Email us at liz@automuse.co.nz