Laurin & Klement was a Czech automobile, motorcycle and bicycle manufacturing company founded in 1895 in Mladá Boleslav, Kingdom of Bohemia by automotive pioneers Václav Laurin and Václav Klement. Car production commenced in 1905, and the company soon became the largest car manufacturer in Austria-Hungary. It was acquired by industrial conglomerate Škoda Works in 1925 and re-branded as Škoda Auto, which is today the largest car manufacturer in the Czech Republic and a part of the Volkswagen Group.[1]
History
The company was founded in 1895 and engaged in the production of new bicycles as well as doing repairs, their first bicycles being called Slavia. The company was named after its two founders: Václav Laurin (born 27 September 1865, died 4 December 1930), and Václav Klement (born 16 October 1868, died 13 August 1938).[2]: 77
Car production commenced in 1905, and the company soon became the largest car manufacturer in Austria-Hungary. In 1925 the company was acquired by the Škoda Works, and operated henceforth under the brand Škoda Auto (Škoda).[2]: 76–77
Today, the Laurin & Klement name is used by Škoda Auto to distinguish especially luxurious editions of some of their car models (Yeti, Octavia, Superb and Kodiaq).[3]
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Founders Václav Klement (left) and Václav Laurin (right, both highlighted) next to the Czechoslovak president Tomáš Masaryk -
Laurin & Klement logo -
Škoda and Laurin & Klement hood ornament and plaques
Models
- Laurin & Klement A (1905)
- Laurin & Klement B (1906)
- Laurin & Klement C (1906)
- Laurin & Klement E (1906)
- Laurin & Klement B2 (1907)
- Laurin & Klement C2 (1907)
- Laurin & Klement FC (1907) (racing car)
- Laurin & Klement FCS (1908) (racing car)
- Laurin & Klement BS (1908)
- Laurin & Klement EN (1909)
- Laurin & Klement FCR (1909) (racing car)
- Laurin & Klement ENS (1910)
- Laurin & Klement T / Ta (1914)
- Laurin & Klement MK6 (Laurin & Klement MK6 / 445 / 450) (1920)
- Laurin & Klement A (1922) (Laurin & Klement A / 100) (1922)
- Laurin & Klement 105 (1923)
- Laurin & Klement 150 (1923)
- Laurin & Klement 350 (1925)
- Laurin & Klement 110 (1925)
- Laurin & Klement 120 (1925)
- Škoda 360 (Laurin & Klement 360) (1926)
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Laurin & Klement Typ 1 motorcycle (1903) -
Laurin & Klement tricycle -
Laurint & Klement Typ A (1906) -
Laurin & Klement Typ A -
Laurin & Klement S -
Laurin & Klement S -
Laurin & Klement S -
Laurin & Klement bus -
Laurin & Klement RK-M -
Laurin & Klement Škoda 110
See also
References
- ^ "The history of ŠKODA". ŠKODA UK. 3 April 2018.
- ^ a b Walker, Mick (29 May 2000). Mick Walker's European Racing Motorcycles. Redline Books. ISBN 978-0-9531311-3-6.
- ^ "Škoda Octavia". repareo (in German). 25 August 2022.
External links
- Biography of company founders (in Czech)
- Brief history with many model images (in Czech)
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