Škoda cars are some of the most thoughtful vehicles around, featuring quality-of-life enhancements that make ownership a joy. The Czech automaker’s recent models, such as the Škoda Fabia, aren’t the only ones that featured these enhancements. Its trucks — admittedly, car-based — also once came with thoughtful design that puts some modern cars and trucks to shame. Back in 1995, Škoda debuted the Felicia Fun coupe-ute, which could quickly transform from a tiny two-seater truck to a four-seater.
Nearly thirty years ago, Škoda had the design chops to make a truck that would carry both people and cargo adeptly — albeit at different times. Here was a truck that knew how to have fun without resorting to massive size or outrageous performance, relying instead on innovative design and a clever “party trick.”
As the carmaker explains, the Felicia Fun had a sliding rear wall actuated by a lever that would allow it to push out into the bed and make use of a couple of jumper seats:
Probably the FELICIA Fun’s biggest surprise was in the interior: The innovative idea of a folding and sliding rear wall and two emergency seats had found its way into a series-production vehicle and was far more than just a futuristic show car feature. The refined mechanics, known within the company as the ‘party trick’, were incorporated into the standard equipment of the FELICIA Fun. When the emergency seats were unfolded, the depth of the loading area, which was covered with spruce wood, decreased from 1,370 to 850 millimetres [54 to 33 inches.]
Oh, and did you catch that about the bed being covered in spruce wood? The Felicia Fun just can’t help but kick ass. And since the Felicia Fun was based on the Škoda Felicia platform, it was a practical vehicle with a length of 167 inches, width of 66 inches, height of 58 inches and wheelbase of 96 inches.
The Felicia Fun could be optioned with any of these three engines: a 1.9-liter diesel four-cylinder making 64 hp; a 1.3-liter gas four-cylinder making 68 hp; and a “sporty” 1.6-liter gas four-cylinder making 75 hp, which had a top speed of 101 miles per hour. Those models with a 1.6-liter engine had a combined fuel efficiency of 32 mpg, and weighed a low 2,300 pounds. The Škoda Felicia Fun started at about $14,000, or about $28,000 in today’s money.
Look, the Felicia Fun would get a seal of approval from me just by virtue of it being a coupe-ute. When you add in that incredible yellow paint, green accents, yellow wheels, paint-matched rear spoiler and front bumper with integrated bull bar, you have a winner. And yet, the Felicia Fun keeps kicking ass with the innovative cabin design.
The Škoda Felicia Fun remains one of the rarest variants of the Felicia around. Škoda made only 4,016 models between 1995 and 2000. Compare that to the more than 1.4 million Felicia models made, overall. Even the builders look like they’re having a blast during the assembly of the Felicia Fun. For those five years leading up to the new millennium, there was once a glorious two-door, car-based truck that could carry bikes, surfboards, snowboards and either two or four people, depending on its owner’s needs. And it was yellow.
