Skoda Rapid Cabriolet Is The VW Group's First Made-In-India 'Student Car'

Skoda Auto Volkswagen India Pvt Ltd (SAVWIPL) has unveiled its first ‘student car’ project undertaken by a select group of students enrolled in the Group Academy's Dual Vocational Training in Mechatronics program. The project car, a Skoda Rapid, started its life as a four-door compact sedan, which was converted into a four-door cabriolet by the mechatronics students.

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Aside from deleting the roof, the project car also got some sporty cosmetic enhancements along with updates to the cabin.

Looking at the project vehicle, the Rapid Cabriolet, aside from the lack of a roof, gets several cosmetic enhancements. To give the Rapid Cabriolet a sportier look, the front bumper gets splitter-like extensions highlighted in yellow. Additionally, the lower lip of the bonnet gets a LED light strip while the Skoda logo can be retracted at the push of a button. The doors feature yellow highlights with the front brake callipers too finished in the same colour. At the rear, the Skoda badging on the tailgate is illuminated, while the stock exhaust too has been swapped out for a sportier-sounding exhaust.

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With the roof and part of the B-pillar deleted, the front seatbelts are now integrated into the seats themselves. The cabin is finished in red leather upholstery while the stock audio system has been replaced by a tablet-style touchscreen unit.

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While this is the first project car for SAVWIPL, Skoda has run its student car project in the Czech Republic since 2014 with the programme. The programme currently in its ninth year has seen students selected from Skoda’s vocational programme in Mladá Boleslav create new concept cars every year.

Commenting on the student car initiative, Piyush Arora, Managing Director and CEO of Škoda Auto Volkswagen India Private Limited said, "We are excited to introduce the Student Car project to India, providing vocational school pupils with a unique opportunity to design and create their dream car by rebuilding one of the cars from the Škoda portfolio while adding innovative ideas. This initiative reflects our commitment to nurturing talent and promoting innovation in the Indian automotive industry. Such initiatives also create an opportunity for the realisation of futuristic ideas by building prototypes with out-of-box thinking without the fear of failure.”