Skoda 1000 MB is a happy little car from Czechoslovakia and it is now celebrating its 50th birthday. This model had a successful five year run and brought affordable motoring to 443,156 owners around the globe. It was introduced in 1964. The 1000 stands for the displacement of the engine. The 1.0-liter (or 988 cc) was special due to its die-cast aluminum production method. In fact, the engine and the 4-speed manual transmission were produced the same way to save weight and time. The “MB” stands for Mladá Boleslav, the city where the car was produced.
The water-cooled OHV four-cylinder engine was placed behind the rear axle and produced 37 hp in the original spec. Skoda says it was enough to push the 1,664 lbs sedan to a top speed of 74 mph. The engine was upgraded to 43 hp for the 1968 model year.
There was also a two-door coupe version of the MB, called the MBX De Luxe. It was produced in low numbers, and is now very desirable among collectors. Note that there was a 1100 MBX De Luxe model with a larger 1,107 cc engine and 52 horsepower. That is the one to find!
Does this Skoda remind you of any other Czechoslovakian rear-engined and rear wheel drive cars? How about the 1968 Tatra 603, which TFLcar plans to drive from Prague to Pebble Beach this summer. Of course, the Tatra is a much bigger car.
Take a look at this 1964 Skoda 1000 MB promotional video!
