World's
only surviving example goes on display at museum in Mladá Boleslav
“The ŠKODA
966 Supersport provides an important testimony to our history in motorsport,
and conveys perfectly the atmosphere of legendary lap racing from the second
half of the 20th century,” said Michal Velebný, head of the restoration
workshop at ŠKODA. “Given the uniqueness of this vehicle, it is one of the most
interesting exhibits at the museum.”
The world's only surviving example of a ŠKODA 966 Supersport has been
restored to its former glory and now has pride of place at the company’s museum
in Mladá Boleslav.
Just three racing-edition 966 Supersport cars were built in the 1950s.
Last seen on the track in 1962, only one has survived to this day. For many
years it was owned by the Slovakian racing driver Ivan Mičík, but the ŠKODA
museum bought the car in 2007 and its extensive renovation began.
“The ŠKODA 966 Supersport provides an important testimony to our
history in motorsport, and conveys perfectly the atmosphere of legendary lap
racing from the second half of the 20th century,” said Michal Velebný, head of
the restoration workshop at ŠKODA. “Given the uniqueness of this vehicle, it is
one of the most interesting exhibits at the museum.”
Early
success – then disaster
The ŠKODA 966 Supersport made its racing debut in May 1950 in Mladá Boleslav,
but just two races later it was so badly damaged it had to be replaced. An
additional vehicle was also produced, because the factory team wanted to race
two cars, and it’s this third car that has been preserved.
Its first race brought immediate success, as Miroslav Fousek took
second place in the 1100cc category at the Czechoslovakia grand prix on 24
September 1950. Victory came just a few months later in the sports car category
at the Liberec races.
Both Supersport cars competed in numerous races and ŠKODA continued to
improve them, especially the engines. The assembly with a displacement of
1089cc was originally derived from the ŠKODA Tudor, but this was given a new
aluminium cylinder head with hemispherical combustion chamber. There was a version
with atmospheric aspiration and two carburettors, and the most powerful version
with one or even two compressors. It was easy to tell the vehicles apart by the
height of their bonnets; the turbocharged version had a lower bonnet while the
other had a large bulge to accommodate two carburettors.
The
fastest car in Czechoslovakia
ŠKODA later increased the engine capacity to 1221cc and then, in the
final phase of development, a new prototype 1500cc engine was installed with
either four carburettors and/or two compressors. The engine with carburettors
achieved 90bhp and the supercharged version 180bhp.
A condenser was placed in front of the compressor to improve cooling
and the designers improved aerodynamics by lowering the radiator grille and
making the suction opening more oval. All the hard work paid off in the autumn
of 1953, when Václav Bobek achieved a new speed record of 123mph in the version
with two compressors, making the ŠKODA 966 Supersport the fastest car in
Czechoslovakia.
