At the legendary GTI meeting at Worthersee in Austria in 2014, Škoda surprised everyone with a very special concept. This was not a design study created by a team of experienced developers, but a project by 16 interns at the Czech company.
The young people at ŠKODA's vocational school were able to give free rein to their creativity. They were supported by chief designer Jozef Kabaň, his team and the production department. The result is a small, sporty city convertible based on the ŠKODA Citigo: the CitiJet.
The technical basis of the “apprentice car” is the Czech sibling of the VW Up! The students have radically changed it: The roof of the compact car has been completely removed. To ensure the safety of the passengers, a massive cross wall has been moved behind the front seats at the height of the former B-pillar – making the project vehicle a two-seater. At the rear, a distinctive rear spoiler is installed halfway up the former C-pillar. The sporty look of the concept is complemented by the sloping side windows, which give the CitiJet a dynamic appearance.
The body is painted in a bold blue and white combination, and the 16-inch wheels and dual exhaust pipes match the color and complete the look. Under the hood, however, there are no changes: the familiar three-cylinder 1.0 MPI petrol engine with 75 hp from the standard Citigo continues to work.
The interior of the Skoda is partly based on the Citigo Sport version with a three-spoke leather steering wheel, red stitching, sports seats and two-tone inserts. The multimedia system provides a great atmosphere behind the wheel: it is a 300-watt sound system combined with dynamic LED lights that light up and change color to the rhythm of the music - a kind of traveling disco. Or maybe it is also the silent ancestor of ambient lighting.
They will work on the small city SUV for six months from November 2013 until the GTI meeting at Lake Wörthersee in 2014. The CitiJet did not go into series production, but it is living proof of how creativity can transform a city car into a customized dream car for a specific target group. Interesting concepts are still being developed today in collaboration with Czech trainees.
