The story of the Voiturette A marks the beginning of an impressive automotive tradition: in 1905, Laurin & Klement presented their first car – a lightweight two-seater that not only made engineering history but also laid the foundation for Škoda Auto.
The Voiturette A made its debut on 29 October 1905 and was the first car from Laurin & Klement (founded on 18 December 1895), the company that would later become Škoda Auto. The lightweight two-seater weighed just 465 kilograms and reached speeds of up to 40 km/h. Between 1905 and 1907, 44 units were built in Mladá Boleslav.
One model is part of the permanent exhibition at the Škoda Museum in Mladá Boleslav and is one of five surviving original examples. The operating licence is just as historic as the vehicle itself: the document from 1906 is an official form, with the required data filled in by hand in the calligraphy of a scribe of the time.
The Voiturette A was powered by an internal combustion engine – still referred to as an ‘explosion engine’ at the time – alongside optional steam and electric propulsion. Steam drive was common at the time, and electric drive was already as relevant as it is today.
The operating licence also includes a detailed technical drawing of the vehicle. The attached stamp shows that the official fee was two crowns. The document is sealed at the end with the stamp of the governor’s office in the Kingdom of Bohemia.
From Two-Wheeler to Four-Wheeler
By 1904, Laurin & Klement was already an established and award-winning manufacturer of bicycles and motorbikes, with several racing victories to its name. It was the company’s ninth year, and to mark its first decade, Václav Laurin and Václav Klement prepared to expand the model range to include the first four-wheeled vehicle. This marked the beginning of automobile production in Mladá Boleslav.
The idea of switching from two to four wheels was no coincidence: a car-like vehicle had already appeared in 1901. The four-wheeler, with a steering wheel instead of handlebars, was one of the development stages leading to the first production car. The prototype featured a V-twin engine with 7.5 hp, which was unveiled to the public in April 1905 at the motor show in Prague’s Industrial Palace (Průmyslový palác).
The Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung introduced the Voiturette to its readers for the first time in October 1905. Later that year, on 27 December, the weekly Sport a hry followed suit, with the car even featured on the front page. Early the following year, on 18 January 1906, the Laurin & Klement Voiturette A received its official operating licence.
Škoda Museum | Mladá Boleslav
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