Skoda has revealed its latest Skoda Student Concept Car. This year, the car - made by the current intake of student apprentices at Skoda - is based on the Kamiq crossover, and takes on the appearance of a Dakar rally car.
Dakar rally inspiration
The Skoda Afriq takes a Kamiq and adds a wider front end, a welded-in roll cage, big off-road rally-raid tyres, spotlights, a massive rear wing, and a colour scheme inspired by Skoda's 1990s rally cars.
Underneath, there's a mechanical package lifted from the 245hp Octavia RS, along with a four-wheel drive system. The Afriq name isn't just about evoking images of dune-bashing on the Dakar; it's also a nod of the head to the fact that Skoda is these days responsible for all Volkswagen Group activities in North Africa.
Two-year project
The annual project is a 'lighthouse' event for Skoda, encouraging the creativity of its apprentices at the Skoda Vocational School in Mladá Boleslav, in the Czech Republic. This year, for the eighth car in the series, the Skoda students got to work closely with the team from Skoda Motorsport. Usually, it's just the final-year students who get to work on the project, but the Afriq was built over the past two academic years due to COVID-19 restrictions.
It follows the tradition of previous Skoda Student cars, including the Citigo-based Citijet convertible; the Fabia-based Funstar pickup; the Atero Coupe that was based on a Rapid hatchback; the Citigo-based Element; the Karoq-based Sunroq convertible; the Kodiaq-based Mountiaq pickup; and the Scala-based Slavia sports car.
Tradition goes back to the 1970s
Actually, the tradition goes back even further, into Skoda's Communist past - back in the 1970s, Skoda's apprentices created the Type 736 Buggy concept. Four of these were made, based on the style of autocross racers. One, which survives, has been painstakingly restored and can now be seen in the Skoda Museum in Mladá Boleslav.