New Skoda Vision GT single-seater concept

Czech brand says the all-electric Vision GT is inspired by 1100OHC racer but will remain a concept

This is our first glimpse at a new digital-only concept car from Skoda, called the Vision GT. The Czech firm says it draws inspiration from its 1957 1100 OHC racer, although it receives a pure-electric powertrain and a single-seat cockpit in the centre of the car’s angular body.

Skoda’s ‘Icons Get a Makeover’ series has so far seen conceptual recreations of its most notable cars, such as the 130 RS, Felicia and the Rapid Monte Carlo. The 1100 OHC is the latest to get the treatment with this Vision GT homage for the modern era, and while it might look like a futuristic racer, there are some shared design similarities.

Just like the 1100 OHC, there’s a long bonnet with high-set front wings and a low nose, side air exits on the car’s flanks, a short rear overhang and an open cockpit. The Vision GT also has huge alloy wheels with a ‘Skoda’ script on the centre caps, a carbon fibre steering wheel (flattened on both the bottom and the top), a head-up display that feeds info to the driver’s helmet and what Skoda calls an ‘active cockpit’.

This conceptual tech suspends the Vision GT’s driver’s seat to compensate for the extreme g forces Skoda says the car could generate.

At the front of the Vision GT an aggressive aerodynamic package featuring a huge splitter is present, while above this sit a pair of LED headlights, arranged in narrow strips.

Towards the rear there are winglets and a two-piece rear wing that features active aerodynamic tech “to ensure optimum driving performance at all times”, with the car’s design said to be inspired by Formula E race cars. Skoda hasn’t revealed what powertrain the Vision GT is designed to use, but an electric-only propulsion system is a good bet.

Skoda says the car will be on show at the ‘Design and Transformation’ exhibition at the Design Museum in Brussels in January 2023.

Alastair Crooks