'RADICAL' RODIAQ LOOKS READY TO ROLL

Gentleman Jack reports on a Škoda Concept Campervan…

Actually, it is more of an incremental development than a radical new vehicle, despite what the PR folk said at its unveiling. Sensible really; why bother to re-invent the wheel…and everything else mechanical that goes with it? The base which the students from Škoda’s Vocational Vehicle School used for their Rodiaq is the extremely-capable cutting-edge Enyaq 80x Sportline.

Exterior

Although the base vehicle’s length (4.65m) and width (1.88m) has remained the same, the interior has been made significantly more spacious by removing the standard roof crown and replacing it with a higher and longer moulded pod. The standard Enyak cab remains, but further aft the usual seating arrangement has been replaced with a campervan/mobile office interior which uses completely recyclable materials for the cabinetwork and soft furnishing fabrics. It is a fully functional one- berth campervan and a highlyintegrated digital mobile-office with permanent internet connection.

Mechanicals

Its fully electric drive train is powered by a mega lithium-ion high-voltage battery and features a synchronous 150kW (202bhp) motor mounted over the rear axle

Interior looks functional and practical. All materials and fabrics are 100% recyclable offering 163Nm (120ft.lb) of torque and an 80kw (107bhp) mounted over the front axle, combining to offer mind-blowingly powerful allwheel drive, plus a WLTP range of a shade under 310 miles…mightily impressive.

Talented students at Škoda’s Vocational School have designed and produced the Rodiaq… a campervan and mobile office conversion. Look familiar? At first glance it looks a bit like SsangYong’s brilliant-but-unloved Rodius, plus of course, the idea of adding a campervan pod isn’t new. The author remembers the Ginetta on a Ford Zodiac and more recently, the Hitch-Hiker. Far left: Cockpit, main superstructure and mechanicals are based on Škoda’s Enyak SUV.

FAQ’s

Is it practical? Yes very, though it would benefit from including a method of turning the long inwardfacing settee into two designated travel seats…mounting folding forward-facing Aguti travel seats under the squab would be a good solution.

Will it make it to production?

Who knows? Rodiaq is more likely to than most concept vehicles. It’s worth noting that I first saw VW’s ID-Buzz as just such a concept vehicle. Not only did it make it into production undiluted from the original design, such is the demand, VW can’t build `em quick enough. Has Skoda been involved with campervans and motorhomes before? They most certainly have. Prior to the breaking-up of the former communist Eastern Bloc, the Czechoslovakian S1203 achieved legendary status behind the Iron Curtain, where it was converted into pop-top campervans and also into high-top and coachbuilt motorhomes in really significant numbers. A surprising number survive, both in preservation and in regular use. More recently, and as reported in Motor Caravanner magazine, the 1203 was ‘reborn’ in a detailed design exercise. This resulted in a thoroughly modern vehicle, but retained some design signatures and DNA of the original. Mock-ups were made and sources suggest that development hasn’t been abandoned, just postponed.

‘Behind the Iron Curtain', Škoda’s 1203 (above left) was one of the most popular base vehicles on which to base a campervan or motorhome conversion. More recently in a detailed design exercise, the iconic 1203 campervan was reinvented as a modern vehicle (above right).