Students at the Skoda Vocational School (SVS) have finished their training year with a bang. The Skoda Mountiaq concept pickup truck was eight months in the making and morphs a Kodiaq SUV into a monstrous-looking truck in brilliant Sunset Orange paint.
A total of 35 apprentices at the school, representing seven different career paths, were involved in the development of the concept. The vehicle is meant to show the technical expertise and team-oriented capabilities of the Skoda Academy's apprentices.
"Like its predecessor models, the Skoda Mountiaq highlights the exceptional technical competence and craftsmanship of our students," said Carsten Brandes, Head of the Skoda Academy.
The concept's name, Mountiaq, is meant to convey a spirit of adventure and off-road capability. The truck began as a concept idea in late 2018, production began in January of 2019 aiming for a May 2019 deadline.
Students began by removing the roof from a production Kodiaq, replacing it with a truck-style cab and cargo bed. The design allows for storage compartments under the bed (similar to the Honda Ridgeline), while bodywork and chassis changes widened the stance of the vehicle for better stability and more capability. Other body changes include conventional pickup truck items such as running boards, a functional tailgate, and other details.
Underneath the bodywork, other apprentices were working on the chassis. The added dimensions required some changes to the underpinnings of the Kodiaq for the larger Mountiaq build. Using the Kodiaq Scout model as a guideline, the students achieved an extra 10 cm (4 in) of clearance, making it 29 cm (11.4 in) in all. Several elements, including 17-in Rockstar II wheels and off-road tires were instrumental in that boost. Track width also changed because of the wheels, adding 3 cm (1.2 in). Engine power was then added, using a 2.0-liter gasoline engine outputting 140 kW (188 hp).
As body changes and chassis development commenced, so did paintwork. The body was designed to create specific effects in varied lighting and the paint needed to enhance that. Students in the Academy's paint shop decided on a bright orange as their best option for making the Mountiaq unique. That bright color would further offset the blackened details of the the truck's winch, bullbar, and large off-road tires and huge stance of the vehicle.
The Sunset Orange paint finish is further emphasized by added lighting and marque points. Puddle lights from the front mirrors project the Skoda logo to the ground, a light bar on top of the cab adds off-road flavor, and illumination in the working bed, fog lamps, etc. finish those touches.
The Skoda Mountiaq highlights the capabilities of the Skoda Design Academy's student body and is the sixth such concept that the school has produced so far.
Source: Skoda
