A magnificent Alpine panorama, fast-paced rides up and down mountains and a top-class starting field: When the opening shot for the renowned classic car rally Silvretta Classic rings out on July 5th, a ŠKODA will again be part of the action. With the ŠKODA 1100 OHC, the Czech manufacturer will send a race car from the late 1950s onto to the dream roads of the Austrian Alpine valley of Montafon. This year, the Silvretta Classic will already take place for the 15th time.
With the ŠKODA 1100 OHC, a genuine rarity in motor sports will compete in the race. The convertible race car is only one of two ŠKODA 1100 OHC convertibles built in the 1950s. Overall, only four models of the ŠKODA 1100 OHC were built – two closed cars and two convertibles.
“We are very excited that the 1100 OHC participates in the Silvretta Classic,” says Eva Ticová, the head of the classic car shop of the ŠKODA Auto Museum. “The Silvretta Classic attracts thousands of classic car fans. They can look forward to an extremely rare ŠKODA specimen that also represents 111 years of success of the ŠKODA brand in motor sports,” according to Ticová. In past years, the ŠKODA 1100 OHC has already been deployed to various classic car rallies, for example to the Coppa d’Oro in the Italian Dolomite mountains in 2008.
ŠKODA AUTO developed the ŠKODA 1100 OHC in the years 1956 and 1957 as a successor model for the ŠKODA 1101 Sport. In the year 1958, the Czech race car driver Miroslav Fousek debuted with the car on the race track in Mladá Boleslav and won the race right away. This was followed by other victories at local races.
With only 550 kilograms, the ŠKODA 1100 OHC is a real lightweight. The car is powered by an in-line four-cylinder engine with a displacement of 1,089 cm³ that is supported by two Weber carburetors. The engine originated in the ŠKODA 440. It generates 92 PS at 7700 rpm; the top speed is around 200 km/h.
Since its premiere in 1998, it is no longer possible to imagine the schedule of the most important classic car races without the Silvretta Classic rally in the Alpine valley of Montafon. The race on the dream roads through the Alps is not about the highest speed, but the highest precision. Consequently, pre-war models have the same chance of winning the overall title as younger cars. The spectators can expect a true exhibition of automotive beauties. Luxurious convertibles from the 1930s are just as likely to be seen at the start as legendary sports cars or everyday cars from the 1970s and 1980s.