ŠKODA Duo starts in fifth Bodensee Klassik

› ŠKODA 440 Spartak and ŠKODA 1000 MB Rallye start in 5th Bodensee Klassik

› Dream cars on enchanting roads: Two Countries, 630 km and 180 participants

› ŠKODA 440 celebrates Bodensee premiere

Mladá Boleslav, 4 May 2016 – ŠKODA is sending a fantastic duo to the fifth year of the classic car rally Bodensee Klassik along the 630-kilometre route through Germany and Austria. The ŠKODA 440 Spartak and the sports-modified ŠKODA 1000 MB Rallye will be the two models from the ŠKODA Museum collection going into in the uniformity and reliability test drive together. A total of 180 participants will be heading to Bregenz, Austria – both the starting point and finish.

"To the participants in the Bodensee Klassik, the rally means pure emotion," says Michal Velebný, coordinator of the restoration workshop at the ŠKODA Museum. "This is one of the most beautiful and diverse trips for vintage and classic cars. We have selected vehicles for this rally that the crowds love and that will help the driver teams achieve good results in the demanding mountain stages."

This is the fifth year of the Bodensee Klassik. The 180 classic cars can be admired from 5 to 7 May 2016 against the Alpine panorama of Lake Constance. The vintage and classic cars will be starting at the Festspielhaus in Bregenz on all three rally days. The 630-kilometre route takes the drivers through the most beautiful parts of the Allgäu, as well as in the Vorarlberg and Tyrolean Alps.

The two automobiles from Mladá Boleslav complement each other’s sporty personalities: The ŠKODA 440 Spartak from 1957 will make the hearts of classic car fans beat faster, especially as the vehicle actually debuted in the Bodensee Klassik. This is the first time the compact saloon will be at Lake Constance since being extensively restored two years ago. The Spartak is powered by a 40-horsepower engine with 1,083 cubic centimetres, which drives the rear wheels through a four-speed transmission.

The ŠKODA 1000 MB Rally built in 1967 started in last year's Lake Tour. The sports car, which was rebuilt at the beginning of the 1990s for long-distance journeys, is sure to captivate audiences this year as well. The 1000 MB Rallye was a sure-fire success in demanding long-distance trips, such as the Panama Alaska and the London-Mexico rallies. It has a modified four-cylinder engine with a displacement of 1.3 litres and an output of 90 hp, giving a top speed of 170 km/h.