Prototype coil springs
A prototype of a modern rear axle with coil springs for the Škoda 440 Spartak! Unfortunately, it never made it into production...
This prototype aimed to replace the transverse leaf spring with a more modern suspension using coil springs, improving the notoriously poor handling of Škoda’s rear axles. Anyone who compared it to the smooth ride of, for example, a Simca Aronde, would quickly realize that Czechoslovak development was already falling behind by the 1950s.
A letter from November 9, 1956, testifies to the strong effort to introduce coil springs on both axles. This was achieved only partially in the following Octavia model – at least on the front axle. The rear suspension, however, remained old-fashioned with leaf springs, and this promising innovation was never put into production.
Type Škoda 440 – rear axle with coil springs (original, p. 1)
Continuation – original, p. 2
Continuation – original appendix 1
Continuation – original appendix 2
Individual photos – continuation
