Strip the Škoda 1203 back to its specification sheet and the character is already there: 1.2 L I4, 47 PS (35 kW) at 4600 min−1. Škoda Auto built from 1968 to 2017, in the decade that gave the world the pony car and the mid-engined supercar. The shape is credited to Miloš Krejčíř.
The background
The Škoda 1203, Škoda 1203 M, TAZ-Š 1203 and TAZ 1500 were the only Czech/Czechoslovak van cars ever produced. They were manufactured from 1968 to 1981 in Vrchlabí by AZV Škoda (typ 997). Five years later, production of the modernized type began (typ 776) and part of the production was moved to Trnava (TAZ). In 1981, the entire production was moved to Trnava (Škoda TAZ). In 1985, another modernization came (TAZ 1500) and the 1,433 cm³ engine appeared. The vehicle was also manufactured in small-scale production in 1994–2010 by Ocelot Auto in Žacléř.
Around 70,000 cars were produced. The first plans for production were drawn up in 1956. Inability to secure suppliers of parts and accessories in Czechoslovakia were the reason the production was delayed until 1968. The Škoda 1202 serves as the technical basis of the vehicle. There were several modifications during the production run, most of which had to do with the engine. The Škoda 1203 lasted for over thirty years without major structural interventions in production, and contributed significantly to the development of small businesses after 1989.
The engineering
The engine is 1.2 L I4; the output is 47 PS (35 kW) at 4600 min−1. On the scales it comes to 1130 -. That is roughly 42 horsepower per tonne: leisurely, which for a car of its age and purpose is the point. Drive goes through a 4-speed, 2. to 4. synchronized (since 1986 also 5-speed). The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 2320 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Where it sits
The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Fiat 241. Its Škoda Auto stablemates include the HZS-1 and the Trekka.
Owning one today
There is no federal ownership record for the Škoda 1203 — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.