Skoda’s Flagship Wagon Transformed Into A Pickup

The Skoda Superb Combi is a rather spacious wagon, but what happens when you need to transport multiple racing bikes? Students from the Skoda Academy answered that question by transforming its range-topping version into a special pickup with plenty of custom features.

If you haven’t figured it out already, the L&K 130 is designed as a support vehicle for bicycle races. It is named after the company’s founders Laurin and Klement, who started building bicycles 130 years ago, before moving on to motorbikes and cars. Skoda is no stranger to cycle racing, being a long-time supporter of events like the Tour de France.

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The highlight of the one-off build is the redesigned tail. The rear bed is rather compact, but the cargo area expands at the touch of a button with the help of a sliding tailgate. This allows quick access to a pair of racing bicycles which are mounted on two racks. If the need arises, an extra roof rack can hold a third bike.

In order to make room for the loading compartment, the students cut out the rear upper section of the bodywork, added a new rear window, and tweaked the pillars. They also created a unique mechanism for the rear door on the passenger side, which now features two door handles and slides backwards.

Exterior features of the Skoda L&K 130 include 19-inch Supernova alloy wheels, a backlit grille, and Laurin & Klement logos. The car is also wrapped in a special livery that combines gold, red, black, and white.

The same colors have been used for the interior upholstery, with “130 years” embroidery on the seats. The cabin has extra storage solutions including a roof net for small items and a large cool box for water bottles. Two additional displays mounted on the dashboard and the seatback provide access to all of the relevant data about the race, joined by a radio for communication. Staying true to the sustainability efforts of the Czech automaker, recyclable materials have been used for the interior.

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Under the hood lies the stock plug-in hybrid powertrain of the Superb Combi iV. A turbocharged 1.5-liter engine and a single electric motor produce a combined 201 hp (150 kW / 204 PS). The 25.7 kWh battery pack allows an EV-only range of over 100 km (62 miles) in the standard version, although the extra weight and worse aerodynamics of the one-off pickup will likely reduce that number.

Overall, the team invested over 2,000 working hours in planning, development, and production of the concept. The resulting one-off will be showcased at the 112th edition of the Tour de France between 5-27 July.

The L&K 130 is the tenth student-designed concept from the Skoda Academy following the Citijet (2014), Funstar (2015), Atero (2016), Element (2017), Sunroq (2018), Mountiaq (2019), Slavia (2020), Afriq (2022), and Roadiaq (2023). The company didn’t reveal concepts in 2021 due to the pandemic, and in 2024 due to the remodelling of the workshops.

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