Skoda Turns Its Big Wagon Into a Truck With a Weird Door

Skoda traces its roots to 1895, when founding fathers Václav Laurin and Václav Klement established Laurin & Klement to manufacture bicycles. Car production began in 1905, and the company evolved into Skoda Auto in 1925 after being acquired by the industrial conglomerate Skoda Works. The year 2025 marks the 130^th anniversary of the original company’s founding, and Skoda is celebrating with a special vehicle that pays homage to its humble beginnings as a bicycle manufacturer.

The L&K 130 is a Superb wagon converted into a pickup truck by students from the Skoda Auto Vocational School. It’s their tenth one-off special project and the first based on a plug-in hybrid. Skoda engineers collaborated with 28 students to reshape the B- and C-pillars and remove the rear section to accommodate a custom bike rack.

The two bikes rest on an electrically extendable bed with integrated rails that lift and tilt them at a 35-degree angle, allowing them to fit when the rear section is closed. A third bike can be mounted on the roof, but perhaps more intriguing is the rear door on the passenger side. It not only swings outward and slides backward but also features two locking mechanisms and two handles.

Opening the minivan-style door reveals a single seat. The three-person rear bench from the original Superb wagon was removed to make room for a cool box and an external speaker kit. A new rear window was designed to suit the modified body style. Up front, Skoda added a radio transmitter and a tablet that displays footage from a rear-mounted camera.

Beyond the structural modifications and reworked interior, the students applied gold, red, white, and black accents as a tribute to the Laurin & Klement logo. The original L&K badge, dating back 130 years, replaces the familiar winged arrow emblem that has been in use for the past century. The unique wagon-turned-pickup project required over 2,000 hours to complete.

The L&K 130 will be showcased next month during the 112^th edition of the Tour de France, which Skoda has supported for over two decades. As with previous Student Cars, a production version isn’t planned.