Sometimes the smartest way forward is to look back. Škoda has done just that with a new digital concept that channels the spirit of its classic 110 R coupe, the cult-favorite two-door that once brought a whiff of sports car glamour to Eastern Bloc roads. Now reinterpreted for the electric era, the project is the latest in a series of design studies that use heritage as a springboard for future ideas.
The original 110 R debuted in 1970 as the sporty sibling to the Škoda 100 sedan. It wasn’t powerful—just 62 hp from a rear-mounted 1.1-liter four-cylinder paired with a four-speed manual—but its rear-wheel-drive layout and sleek fastback shape made it a beloved, attainable coupe for enthusiasts behind the Iron Curtain.
Fast forward more than 50 years, and designer Richard Svec, who joined Škoda in 2023 after a stint at Italdesign in Turin, has reimagined the 110 R for the EV age. Rather than leaning into retro pastiche, Svec focused on proportion, stance, and form to capture the coupe’s essence while pushing its style into the future.
The result is a compact two-door, two-seat electric coupe with a low roofline and fastback tail. Its face nods to the past with headlamps that echo the “melancholic” look of the original, now rendered as sharp rectangles with retractable, body-colored covers. A recessed front end incorporates Škoda’s new “Tech Loop” design language, previewed on the Vision O concept.
Performance cues abound. Inflated fenders wrap around large center-lock wheels with aero covers, while hood ribs, a visible protective cage, and deep side intakes reference the original’s racing pedigree. Out back, hidden taillights and a thin LED strip mirror the car’s front-end graphics, giving the coupe a unified look from every angle.
Škoda has yet to disclose powertrain details, but speculation suggests a rear-mounted electric motor—true to the original’s layout—would be the logical choice. If it borrows from the brand’s current EVs like the Elroq or Enyaq, output could hit around 286 metric horsepower, a number that would make this lightweight coupe plenty quick.
As with most digital concepts, Škoda has no plans to put the 110 R Coupe into production. Still, the design exercise hints at what could be possible if the company’s bread-and-butter EVs continue to succeed. With mainstream profits secured, Škoda could have the flexibility to indulge in halo products like this—cars that connect emotional heritage with a forward-looking identity.
For now, the 110 R digital coupe remains a tantalizing glimpse of what might be: a reminder that heritage can still guide the future, even in the age of electrification.
Source: Škoda