Škoda 440 Spartak History: From Production to Legacy

At the same time, apart from its rather elegant form, Spartak did not offer much new in terms of technology. The two-door body was based on a proven backbone frame with a central support tube, and under the hood the designers put an engine that went back to the pre-war Škoda Popular. The in-line four-cylinder had a volume of 1089 cubic centimeters and produced 40 horsepower – thus the type specification 440 (four cylinders, 40 horsepower). It drove the rear wheels through a four-speed gearbox.

However, by using proven solutions, Škoda only met the specification from higher elevations, which required at least 80 percent of the parts to come from previous model lines . So it’s no surprise, for example, that the front axle was still loaded with a leaf spring.

Even with the use of proven components, the journey of the Škoda 440 from the prototype, which was prepared on 19 December 1953 for the 69th birthday of the then president Antonín Zápotocký, to serial production took less than two years .

During the preparation for series production, the Škoda 440 was also presented abroad, at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1955, a “decorated” car with the name Orlík attracted well-deserved attention from visitors.

The Mladoboleslav factory abandoned the car’s original name for fear of disputes with Dutch moped manufacturer Sparta. But the new Škoda did not remain an eagle, for a while the name Rival was also considered, but in the end the factory chose a numerical designation and a system already used in the 1930s.

But people called the new car, described as an intermediate type of people’s car, only Spartak. At the same time, not everyone could buy it, not only because of the price of 27,450 crowns for the standard model. It was, on the one hand, at a time when the average monthly salary was around 1,200 kroner after monetary reform in 1953, which valued most people’s savings. Also, only those who received a special voucher, which was distributed to selected workers mostly by a trade union, could buy Spartaky boots.

Spartacus was not easy to get, also because a deposit of two-thirds of the price was required long before the car was delivered. So it is not surprising that the owner of the car could have an inconspicuous envy, which was also captured by the authors of the film Three Wishes (1958), where the main character Spartacus won with the help of a magical grandfather in lottery “Is that an export?” asked a housewife slyly about the version of the car, which did not skimp on chrome in its more luxurious version.

At first, domestic customers had to settle for a poorer version, in which the factory used normal enamel instead of chrome and there was also no heat. However, cars in the export version sometimes reached the Czechoslovak market, and from March 1957 only a version with better equipment was produced.

In addition to the basic type 440, the factory produced the model 445 with a more powerful engine – and then also the Škoda 450, i.e. a stylish variant, which became the Škoda Felicia in the next generation.

Production of the Spartaks ended in January 1959, when they were replaced by the very similar Škoda Octavia. At first glance, it differed from its predecessor mainly in the different shape of the front mask (it was oval and there were no “whiskers” above the radiator grill ), the changes also affected the chassis, where the front axle was finally replaced with coil springs. of leaf springs.

Over time, the Octavia also received an improved engine and also a station wagon version, which was still produced seven years after Škoda introduced the 1000 MB in the spring of 1964.

The model, which was supposed to be produced for a limited time only, eventually became the main product of the factory for almost ten years. During these, 86,000 of each version of the Spartacus were produced, followed by 286,000 Octavias (including 50,000 station wagons, produced until December 1971).

At the same time, Spartaks – and not only them – very successfully exported around the world, more than 1000 cars were also sold in the United States.

Today, the Škoda 440 is a valuable veteran, the Ministry of Transport currently registers less than two thousand vehicles, and it is estimated that there are hundreds more Spartaks in the register of historic vehicles.