This is the seventh installation in an annual series of one-off concept cars from Skoda, penned by students from its Academy - it's the Skoda Scala Spider.
Open-top Skoda
Having created a different, unique vehicle every year since 2014, the most recent of which was 2019's Mountiaq pick-up, 20 students from the Skoda Academy decided this year that they would whip the top off the Czech company's freshest hatchback to create the Scala Spider.
At the moment, it is still in the design stage but you can see from the images that it will be a dramatic two-seater with a prominent rear deck, rather than simply a convertible Scala. Working with the group of students is Oliver Stefani, the head designer of Skoda, and while its official name isn't yet set in stone, it's likely the Scala Spider will make its first full public appearance in June - Covid-19 outbreak permitting, of course.
Stefani himself said: "Despite the increasing use of computers and simulations, drawing is still an essential part of automotive designers' work. With every stroke, an idea turns into something real. A sketch is the first of many steps on the long and exciting path to a new car."
More high-ranking Skoda people than just Stefani himself have been involved in the process and Jiří Hadaščok, exterior design coordinator at the company, added: "From the beginning, all the participants showed great enthusiasm and determination. Their sketches are very impressive, I really like the concept."
And, speaking from the other side of this process, one of the students was keen to play up the group's excitement regarding their chance to fashion this creation. Vojtěch Špitálský said: "We are all delighted to be part of this project. As a student, where else do you get the chance to put your own ideas and vision into designing a car and then actually build it yourself? Drawing our first sketches was lots of fun, and we learned a lot from Oliver Stefani and his team."