The Tatra 700 was the favorite vehicle of the former prime minister and now president of the Czech Republic, Miloš Zeman . However, when he assumed the position of Prime Minister in 1998, the Kopřivnica limousine was already quite outdated. Nevertheless, Zeman insisted that Czech politicians must drive Czech cars . Skoda picked up this assignment, and since the Superb was still far away, they lengthened the regular Octavia by 80 mm.
The Long version with a length of 4591 mm and a wheelbase of 2592 mm was presented for the first time in 1999. Its production was carried out entirely by hand in the development center in Česan and the procedure was more or less simple – a regular Octavia was cut in half and the 80 mm was inserted into the B pillar. This was to solve the problem of insufficient legroom for rear passengers . Then it was time for a new roof, sills, additional reinforcements and redesigned electrical installation, namely the exhaust, fuel and brake systems. All Octavies Long were in the top Laurin & Klement trim , which means, among other things, 16-inch alloy wheels, four airbags, remote central locking, automatic climate control, radio with CD player, electric front windows, electric mirrors, heated seats, beige leather upholstery or wooden decorations, complete with a folding table in the back of the passenger seat, a satellite phone in the front armrest, rear reading lights, a blue warning beacon and new carpets. However, there are various differences between the individual pieces produced.
At the beginning of January 1999, Skoda managed to deliver the first two units at a price of 810,000 crowns (Mladá Boleslav valued the later delivery at 900,000 crowns per unit) and the reaction, especially from Miloš Zeman, was very positive. Then, however, during one of the events, he hit his head while getting into the back seats , and the positive evaluation was over. In the end, the ministers bought a German Audi and left the extended Octavies to lower government officials or the state administration. And this is also one of the reasons why the original plan to produce a 200-piece series of these cars was abandoned. In the end, only about 20 Octavia Longs were produced until 2000 (other figures indicate an even smaller number), after the facelift in 2001 five more pieces were added. Their equipment was somewhat richer and allegedly included ESP.
All 25 cars have a liftback body (allegedly, there is at least one station wagon prototype) and 24 of them got under the hood a turbocharged 18 -cylinder petrol engine with a power of 150 hp and a torque of 210 Nm, which does not have much to do with a 1374 kilogram heavy car. And what about the piece with serial number 25, you ask? Under its hood should be a diesel nineteen-cylinder TDI with unspecified technical parameters. The transmission of power to the front wheels was always handled by a mechanical five-speed gearbox, while versions with a petrol engine could reach speeds of up to 215 km/h!
Similar to the engines, it is also interesting with the colors of individual Octavias. Most are black or dark green , but there are also a few silver examples, and the very first Long produced was red. To this day, there should be a maximum of 16 examples , one of which is alternately on display and in storage in the brand museum of the car company . The others are mostly owned by private individuals, which Octavie Long got by being retired from the civil service.
Source: Skoda, auta5p.eu, Svět Motorů 48/2012, novinky.cz
