We all know the story of Škoda’s 200 RS prototype. Those two 2.0L rally prototypes (plus a further one with a 1.8 engine). Now imagine if Škoda had made all three cars use the 2.0L engine and made them compete out of Czechia.
It is early 1974 and Škoda has just finished work on its latest prototype, a car ultimately made with the help of some IBM computers, the 200 RS, for its 2.0L engine and the Rallye Sport acronym. But the engineers at Mlada Boleslav didn’t just make one car, they made three, and they wanted to race them. The Czech Rally Championship allowed for prototypes such as the 200 RS to take part in it, but they wanted even more, they wanted to test their new car against the biggest names in the rallying world. Going World Rally Championship route? It would be way too costly and despite many events were held in Europe the FISA would never approve the use of a prototype car. But what about the European Rally Championship? Shorter events, a bigger calendar which would mean they could choose which events to take part in, and more importantly, after some negotiations with the FISA, they would allow Škoda to use the 200 RS for two years on the Championship as a way to further develop its 100/110 platform, which would ultimately end up becoming the 130 RS.
Now they had the greenlight to race it, they needed the budget for it. Running three cars for a season wouldn’t be easy, let alone two, so they thought that the solution might be lending two of the cars while keeping one for the full works Škoda Motorsport branch. Then they approached Barum, Czechoslovakia’s biggest tire brand, to see if they would be interested on running one of the cars, an offer they quickly accepted, forming the Barum Team Škoda, which would act as a satellite team to the Motorsports car. Now there was just one car left without an owner, but who would get it? Skoda sought the answer on their oversea dealers, which were interested in stablishing a brand on other European countries, for which they would fund the Dealer Team Škoda.
The three cars together would take part on the European Rally Championship during the 1974 and 1975 seasons, helping Škoda refine what would then become the Škoda 130 RS. How did the three cars fare for those two years? Well, that’s for you to decide... But have fun while doing so.
P.S.: I can't be grateful enough to my friend JFK who has helped me along the way, providing me with some interesting info and some period-correct Czech sponsors for the cars, and for having to read my ramblings.
Disclaimer - Modifying, reusing parts or the entire livery without permission is not allowed, as well as uploading it to other sites. You can find me here or on Discord (AyrtJ97#3152)
