Efforts to build a purely Czech sports car did not end even after the fall of communism and (un)successful projects such as Skoda Super Sport or ÚVMV 1100 GT . Just after the legendary MTX Tatra V8 , a small sports car was created in Klatovy, which would compete with, for example, a Mini Coupé on today's scale.
The year is 1994 and the Dioss company from Klato has just decided to build a light yet affordable two-seater Rebel coupe . At that time, the design of a Czech sports car could be done by none other than Václav Král , quite possibly the best-known Czech designer, also behind the already mentioned MTX Tatra V8. The King gave the Diossa a memorable look with a massive rear , typical of the King's cars, short overhangs and recessed headlights . I mention them on purpose, because over time they were replaced by a raised pair of reflectors.
A prototype with a blue body was first introduced in 1995. This happened already under the modified name Dioss Rebel Nova , for, as you can probably deduce from the name, great media and financial support of the then still new Nova television . Contrary to the original assumptions, this prototype comes from the workshops of the Kopřivnica company Eccora , but Dioss built other pieces himself.
After the introduction of the blue prototype, a yellow prototype with recessed lights was shown at the Brno Motor Show in the same year. This was later replaced by a raised one, which also had a red prototype , introduced during the following two years.
The original plan from the Moravian metropolis was to start small-series production of the car in the number of 100-250 units per year starting in 1998. However, persistent problems with homologation and subsequently finances made this plan impossible and the project passed under a new owner over time and subsequently faded away. What's left? According to the available information, 3 prototypes , 1 frame, 1 skeleton and a wooden model in a scale of 1:1.
Who would be interested in the fate of the already produced prototypes, the yellow one is currently with a private owner , who put it into working order and last year, after several years, decided to show the Rebel to the public. The red one is also owned by a private person, who, however, had it renovated by the company that bought the documentation, and the blue one, quite possibly the most famous prototype, lies in disrepair on the premises of the current owner of the project. The body shell and the wooden prototype met the same fate. The tubular frame should be with the same person who also owns the yellow prototype.
In addition to the fate of the car, I can't avoid the technical details – the body is made of composite materials and sits on a welded tubular frame that weighs something like 110 kg. Originally the car was 3850 mm long, 1650 mm wide and 1250 mm high, but after various modifications the car measured 3930 mm long, 1710 mm wide and 1220 mm high. The wheels on both axles use a McPherson type suspension with coil springs. It is also worth noting that most of the technical parts come from Skoda Favorit and Felicia , a little bit from Octavia and also Seat or Volkswagen.
The engine, placed in the middle , together with a six-speed manual drives the rear wheels and in the beginning had a volume of 1289 cm 3 , 4 cylinders and originated in the Skoda Felicia/Favorit. Its output was slightly raised to 75 hp at 5500 rpm , the maximum torque of 110 Nm peaks at 4000 rpm. With a weight of 840 kg , the Rebel equipped with this engine accelerates to 100 km/h in about 13 seconds and reaches a maximum speed of 170 km/h .
Later, the thirteen-cylinder was replaced by a larger engine with a volume of 1781 cm 3 , originating from Volkswagen. It too had four cylinders, but the output rose to 125 hp at 6,000 rpm and torque to 173 Nm at 4,100 rpm. Compared to the weaker version, the 1.8 also received an impact cooler, a five-speed manual transmission and increased weight to 1075 kg . Nevertheless, the Rebel 1.8 was up to 100 km/h in about 10 seconds and the indicated maximum speed was 200 km/h .
Source: wikipedia.org, skodateam.cz, allcarindex.com, ecorra.com, Dioss
