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Mladá Boleslav, September 20th, 2012 – An elegant 1961 ŠKODA Felicia Cabrio is ŠKODA's entry in the fifth edition of the Hamburg-Berlin-Klassik vintage car rally. The Hamburg-Berlin-Klassik is held annually and has been one of Germany's most important vintage car meets since its inception in 2008. The starting gun will sound on September 20th, 2012, in Hamburg harbour. The finish will be on September 22nd in Berlin. The event is open to historically valuable cars built before 1990 and is organised by Auto Bild Klassik magazine.

The 51-year old Felicia convertible is part of ŠKODA's historic collection in Mladá Boleslav. The car's attractive paint job, its elegant shape and its distinctive rear fins make it a great eye catcher. Its cream-coloured interior is in perfect harmony with the blue-green exterior paint. The four-cylinder engine is mounted lengthwise above the front axle and brings 50 HP to the road. Displacement is 1,089 ccm. This convertible weighs only 930 kg and achieves a top speed of 130 kph.

Between 1959 and 1964 a total of about 15,000 Felicia Cabrios were made. Besides the softtop, a hardtop variant was also available. Only a few are still in existence today. The car taking part in the 2012 Hamburg-Berlin-Klassik was painstakingly restored in the workshop of the ŠKODA Museum.

The basis for the Felicia Cabrio was the 1957 ŠKODA 450 roadster – the open version of the closed-body ŠKODA 440, the so-called "Spartak" (1955), and the ŠKODA 445 (1957). While the 440 and the 445 were renamed Octavia following a facelift in 1959, the Roadster 450 was renamed Felicia, from Latin "felix" for happy. In 1961, the ŠKODA Felicia was given a new interior and the characteristic tailfins.

The three-day Hamburg-Berlin-Klassik is being held for the fifth time this year. The event, also known as "Rally of the North," will see 180 cars at the start. Participants include hobby drivers, collectors and aficionados, celebrities and students. Competition is open to all comers, provided they can muster a historically valuable automobile that dates back further than 1990 as production year. Three- and four-wheeled cars are admissible if they are street legal in Germany. The 750-kilometre course leads from Hamburg via pretty secondary roads in Northern Germany and the Mecklenburg Lake District to Berlin.

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