440 Standard
Alongside the “regular” Spartak models, a cheaper version called Škoda 440 Standard was produced, lacking chrome parts, decorative trims, and featuring the old Tudor-style gearshift. Very few of these cars have survived, and to most people, it’s as if they never existed. The car shown in the photographs displays these traits; however, features like the hood fin and large windshield defrosters suggest it might actually be a prototype from test drives before serial production began.
In fact, I have never seen any Spartak Standard in original condition in my life.
Differences from the common Spartak version:
- Tudor-style gearshift (visually under the steering wheel, with a long rod extending directly into the vertical engine bulkhead – not the later floor-mounted type leading into the gearbox tunnel),
- motorcycle-type headlight frames,
- simple steering wheel,
- absence of chrome and trim,
- single windshield wiper,
- different badge on the grille fin?
Additional features:
- large windshield defrosters,
- hood fin.
The photos below likely show a test vehicle – a prototype before production launch. License plate “ZKOUŠKA ZB-91-35”
