By Antti Kautonen
The yellow Saab isn’t the only yellow thing you’ll be seeing this weekend. No, I present to you the 1998 Skoda Felicia Fun: a product of the time when Skoda dialed up the zaniness in their product portfolio.
You see, not only did Skoda clad the plumber favorite Felicia trucklet with a substantial amount of matte plastic and paint it yellow, Baywatch style: the trick in this pickup is that the cabin’s rear wall moves, giving you a rear seat out in the open. Think of it as the Budejovicky Budvar BRAT.
This is what the Felicia looked like in the open position, in a Czech gravel pit.
This is what the Felicia looks like after 15 years of hard fun. It’s about as rusty as any other Felicia, since they don’t exactly command high prices on the used market and are often neglected. And they rust more eagerly than the Octavias.
The plastic bullbar bumper makes the car look a little bit porcine. Under the hood is the Volkswagen 1.6-litre 75hp engine.
This one has had to have the rear shock towers welded back into shape at some point, as they have rusted through. It’s the rattiest Fun I’ve seen, as there are a couple of cleaner examples for sale every now and then.
The Felicia Fun remains a Polo Harlekin -like curiosity, and clean ones should be preserved for future fun. It’s such a weird concept, that keeping one in nice shape would secure a car show limelight spot 10 years from now.
[Images: Copyright 2013 Hooniverse/Antti Kautonen]
Is it more like a BRAT or an Avalanche? I don't know, but I want one.
It's based on a subcompact. It probably weighs about 1000 kg.
I remember seeing these yellow Skodas but I didn't know about the trick seats! Are those pop up seats or do they slide out of the cabin? Are you actually allowed to drive it on the roads with people in the back seat? I'm genuinely surprised that the EU Fun Police actually allowed this to be built in the first place. Oh wait, Czechs didn't join the Union until '04…
Fun fact: While Anheuser-Busch lost the widely publicized lawsuit against Budvar in Europe, they weren't allowed to use that name in the US. You can still buy their beer in the States, but it's been renamed… Czechvar.
They fold and fall into place when you move the rear wall. You can see the bed floor mount in the first photo, how the wall sort of ratchets into place.
Here is the answer to the question "everybody" is asking!
<img src="http://pics.ricardostatic.ch/ImgUsers/EuroTax/p0009305.jpg">
More info (in English) and pics here: http://website.lineone.net/~dave.emerson/fun/fun….
The "fun" bit is having your friends getting drenched in the rain while you're toasty and warm. They contemplated the name Sadistic before arriving at Fun….
Wait though, was there a roof?
<img src="http://pics.ricardostatic.ch/ImgUsers/EuroTax/p0009306.jpg">
You were saying…
So what does this turn the Felicia into.. A Landaulette?
Skoda El Camino Brougham!!!
That's kind of a disappointment.
Travelling faster than 45 MPH in my E30's with the top down and the rain blew right on over the cockpit. Surprised many passengers with that experience but my then 7 year old daughter enjoyed it the most. "Dad, this is freakin' awesome." Thanks for the fantastic memory.Antti and Rusty.
Antti, I see a Kia Soul in the background. Is that what it's called in Finland?
Kia Seoul, if you let Google Chrome translate this into English: http://www.delta.fi/Etusivu/Mallit/Soul/tabid/128…
Why am I suddenly captivated by this silly thing? Shame they're a decade away from importation here (although legal in Canada!).