Skoda tunes the ’60s with re-imagined 1000 MBX Coupé EV
Skoda has revived its classic 1000 MBX Coupé as an all-electric concept car as part of its 130th birthday celebrations.
Throughout 2025, the Czech carmaker has re-worked several of the most popular cars from its back catalogue as concept EVs using the brand’s new ‘Modern Solid’ design language. As well as the 1000 MBX Coupé, other models to have received the all-electric, Modern Solid treatment include the Favorit, the 110 R, and the Slavia B café-racer motorcycle.
The initial 1000 MBX is one of Skoda’s rarest models, with just 2,517 units built from 1966 to 1969. As explained by the new version’s interior designer, David Stingl, the MBX “wasn’t a sports machine, but rather an elegant car for an active lifestyle”.
Upon launch, the original MBX’s design was marked by a distinctive C-pillar, frameless doors, and no B-pillar.
The 2025 1000 MBX concept carries over these design cues, along with raised headlamps and the character crease halfway up the car’s sides. Instead of being a retro model, its exterior designer, Antti Mikael Savio explains that the car’s purposeful, no-frills design was inspired by the brutalist architectural movement of the 1950s to 1980s.
“I’m very fond of product design and brutalist architecture, so while developing this vision I studied several buildings and objects in that style,” he said.
A 2+2 coupé, the 1000 MBX concept’s rear window is replaced by a camera to provide occupants with more interior space and a sporty, compact appearance. With the cinema-style tip-up rear seats folded, there’s enough room to accommodate a bicycle and other sports equipment.
According to Stingl, “this car should encourage its crew to go exploring without a moment of hesitation. It’s not meant to be just a fun weekend coupé to be a second car in the family, but a vehicle with exceptional everyday usability”.
As part of its usability ethos, the MBX 1000 concept gets sliding doors for ease-of-access, while the front seats can be used as a bench. The Citroen-style air suspension allows for adjustable ground clearance: low for a sporty apparance, and high for rough roads and easier cargo loading.
Not dissimilar to its its prececessor, the Skoda 1000 MBX EV has no centre console. However, the rest of the cabin is thoroughly modern – the dashboard is a glass-covered oval module upon which images are projected, and a recurrent theme of oval forms is reflected in the headrests and the steering wheel. The emphasis on ambient lighting and uncluttered screen graphics are part of the Modern Solid design language.
Like the rest of the reimagined Skoda models, the Mladà Boleslav-based brand has no intention of putting the MBX 1000 into production, more’s the pity.
