The cult classic Skoda Felicia Fun ute sold in the late 1990s in Europe has been rebooted for the electric age. Using the Czech brand's latest design language that has already spawned the Elroq SUV, the next-gen Octavia-based utility is only a computer-generated study and likely to stay that way.
The classic Skoda Felicia Fun car-based ute has been reincarnated as a wild EV as part of the Czech car-maker's plans to commemorate some of the most important cars in its 130-year history.
The first car developed entirely with Volkswagen Group technology, following VW's acquisition of Skoda in 1991, the original Felicia was a hit for Skoda. But it's the wacky 1997-2000 Fun ute most fans of the brand fondly remember.
Mimicking the original's two-door, long-bed body shape, the latest battery-powered concept has been built to once again appeal to surfers. However, it doesn't feature the original Felicia Fun's useful sliding rear bulkhead and pop-out seats. That’s probably because of safety concerns.
Thought to be heavily based on the Vision 7S three-row SUV that was unveiled back in 2022, the new show car dumps the second and third row, gets a large rear spoiler just like the first Skoda ute. The tinted pink rear lamps cements the 1990s feel.
Inside, renderings show off a new full-width digital display not unlike the Mercedes-Benz Hyperscreen. In keeping with the ’90s theme it's said to have been inspired by an old CRT monitor, with dated graphics to boot.
Looking very different to the original 7S concept's cabin architecture, the new dash could preview what Skoda has planned for the production version that's due in 2026 or 2027.
Other takeaways include a new squared-off steering wheel with larger SKODA lettering within the centre that could reappear later too.
Final design exterior elements tipped to be reused on future Skodas include the slotted front grille, clamshell bonnet and thick rear B-pillars.
Unusually, the designers of the latest Skoda reboot admitted they used AI-powered tools to help create the new concept, before refining the final design.
It's telling that the new Skoda Felicia Fun is a purely computer-generated design study as the Czech brand has admitted it has no plans to put a ute into production based on its inbound 7S.
Instead, perhaps some of the fun injected into both the reimagined Felicia Fun and previous Favorit EV will begin to start filtering into real concepts and even production Skodas.