Arctic Circle adventure and Olympic Rally with Skoda Rapid

Four Prague students set out in 1936 with a Skoda Rapid, reaching the Arctic Circle before competing in Berlin’s Olympic Rally, where they triumphed with gold medals.

In the mid-1930s, as the Great Depression slowly receded, Europe was filled with a hunger for adventure and new experiences. Young people who had endured the hardships of economic crisis were eager to test themselves and discover the world. It was in this atmosphere that four students from Prague set out in June 1936 on a remarkable journey – an expedition beyond the Arctic Circle in a Skoda Rapid.

The leader of the trip was 23-year-old law student Vladimir Stula, joined by three friends: Bohumir Pokorny, Bohumil Zahradnik, and Ladislav Tyra. To underline the spirit of their adventure, each gave himself a playful crew title, ranging from photographer and treasurer to mechanic and cameraman. Their humor and optimism are still visible today in the captions of their preserved photo album.

The journey began on 25 June 1936. Skoda Auto supported the young men with a subsidy of 20,000 crowns for what was described as a "promotional drive beyond the Arctic Circle and participation in the Olympic Rally." Their route led through Germany and Denmark into Scandinavia. The Rapid passed Stockholm and Oslo, reached Trondheim, and after an exhausting 868-kilometer drive without pause, crossed the Arctic Circle. The northernmost point of the journey was the Finnish port of Liinakhamari, which at the time belonged to Finland but would be ceded to the Soviet Union just three years later after the Winter War.

The adventure did not end in the far north. On their return south, the crew joined the Olympic star rally on 16 July 1936, starting in the Finnish town of Tornio. Among 154 cars, the Rapid carried start number 43. The rally required crews to check in at control points at least 250 kilometers apart. The route led through Konigsberg, Swinemunde, Lubeck, Wilhelmshafen, and Harzburg, with the finish line at Berlin’s Avus racetrack, also used for Olympic events.

Initially, the Czech team was ranked second, behind a German crew. But at the official closing ceremony of the Berlin Olympics, Vladimir Stula and his friends learned that they had in fact been declared the winners. Their gold medals became not only the culmination of an extraordinary holiday adventure but also a symbol of international recognition.

Back in Prague, they were welcomed at the Czechoslovak Automobile Club with ovations. Their triumph was marked by personal letters of thanks from Skoda’s general manager Karel Hrdlicka, along with the issue of postage stamps bearing their likeness. What had begun as a student road trip became a chapter in the cultural and automotive history of their country.

The photo album, filled with images, newspaper clippings, and a meticulously drawn map, was later acquired by Skoda Auto. Today, this rare artifact allows the adventure to be retold almost 90 years later in vivid detail.

This story also resonates with other long-distance journeys of the era. In 1934, four Skoda Popular cars reached Calcutta from Prague. In 1936, two Czechoslovak adventurers circled the globe in 97 days with a Skoda Rapid, while another crew traveled across Africa covering more than 52,000 kilometers. Together, these episodes illustrate how the spirit of adventure and pushing the limits of possibility have always been woven into Skoda’s identity.