Monday 16 June  2025 | from 5:00 p.m.
Škoda Museum | L&K Forum
Free entry

A lecture by Ing. Martin Hrdlička, MBA, Ph.D., will outline the fascinating journey that engine design and production in Mladá Boleslav has undergone from 1899 to the present day. It will recall the historic milestone of 18 November 1899, when Laurin & Klement introduced the A/B type motorcycles with their own single-cylinder engine. The motorcycles featured innovations such as electric ignition and a carburetor of their own design. These were followed by technically advanced two-cylinder models and, in 1904, one of the world's first four-cylinder motorcycles – the Type CCCC.

In 1905, the first automobile of the brand was presented in Prague – the Voiturette A. This elegant car was equipped with a liquid-cooled two-cylinder engine with a capacity of 1.0 liters and an output of 5.2 kW (7 hp).

The lecture will focus on key milestones, such as the first inline eight-cylinder engine in Central Europe (1907), the aircraft engine (1910), and the mass production of engines from 1929 onwards. It will also tell the story of the revolutionary engine for the 1964 Škoda 1000 MB with a die-cast aluminum block.

In 1991, Škoda joined the Volkswagen Group and within six years began supplying engines to other brands within the group.

A significant recognition of the work carried out in Mladá Boleslav was the decision to gradually take over responsibility for the development of the entire EA 211 engine series and all transmissions within the Volkswagen Group.