Trekka on display
Skoda Museum in the Czech Republic and City Gallery, Wellington, are embracing the classic Trekka. David Linklater reports.
A blast from our past.
Local car comes good: the Skoda Museum in the Czech Republic city of Mlada Boleslav has added a Trekka to its collection.
Trekka is a Kiwi icon, but also now a vehicle full of warm fuzzies for the Skoda brand, which is staking much of its future on SUVs – including the new Karoq.
The Trekka is the only vehicle ever to be designed and seriesproduced in New Zealand, but it’s also technically the first-ever Skoda SUV. Eighty per cent of the Trekka was Kiwi, but the powertrain and major platform structure were shipped directly from Skoda headquarters in Mlada Boleslav.
It’s a very rare vehicle in Europe: aside from the Mlada Boleslav Museum example, only one other is known to be in working order – in the hands of a private owner from South Moravia.
It’s also a rare vehicle in New Zealand, with only 3000 examples built between 1966 and 1973.
Trekka is currently enjoying a starring role in another museum a little closer to home: the City Gallery Wellington has the vehicle on display as part of its This Is New Zealand exhibition until July 15. It’s a key element in a representation of works submitted to the Venice Biennale (sometimes called the ‘‘Olympics of the art world’’) and other international exhibitions by Kiwi artists since
2001.
The Trekka is the centrepiece of a 2003 work by Michael Stevenson called ‘‘This is the Trekka’’, which explores the New Zealand determination to be selfreliant that was typical of much of
1960s culture.
Trekka was a way of sidestepping New Zealand import restrictions of the time. As an agricultural vehicle, it attracted no tariffs and there was no limit on the number that could be made.
NZ Skoda importer Motor Lines (later Motor Holdings) developed the Trekka using Skoda Octavia mechanicals and built the vehicle in Otahuhu, Auckland.
It was partly based on another Kiwi creation, a low-cost utility vehicle being developed by Peter Risbridge in Kawerau.
The story goes that a joint venture was discussed and the Risbridge prototype was sent to Auckland, but contact was lost between Risbridge and Motor Holdings, the latter proceeding with the project (and prototype) alone. No money ever changed hands.
The rear-drive Trekka was powered by a 1.2-litre engine that made a hearty 35kW. Driving through a four-speed gearbox, it could hit 110kmh flat-out.
Trekka was launched on December 2, 1966, by the Minister of Customs, Norm Shelton.
Although it was pitched as the ‘‘Trekka Agricultural Motor Vehicle’’, it was also popular with urban-based tradespeople – and anybody who wanted a low-cost new vehicle with a rugged look.
The appeal was simple: it was cheaper overall than the Morris 1100 of the day and most of all, it was available – in an age where import restrictions meant secondhand cars often fetched higher prices than (unobtainable) new ones. Land Rover-esque looks also helped.
Initial production was of the Trekka 2-10, available only in green with a canvas top. There was even an options list available to buyers: it contained a towbar.
Assembly really got going when the hand-formed steel body panels were replaced by massproduced items, stamped by HJ Ryans – a lawnmower manufacturer.
Later improvements included a fibreglass canopy (also outsourced) and uprated seats.
A limited-slip differential was also developed by racing specialist Ray Stone, to help the 2WD Trekka cope with slippery rural conditions.
The Trekka might have been a Kiwi ‘‘can do’’ car but ultimately it couldn’t succeed.
There was some effort at exporting the vehicle, to Fiji and later Indonesia.
There was a bit of a panic in 1968 when the Skoda factory was reported to be considering the production of a low-cost utility in Australia.
Trekka wanted to strike first and the two governments struck a deal for 720 examples of the Kiwi vehicle to sell in Australia duty free, with the same number of Holdens enjoying that privilege in New Zealand.
Aussies weren’t as keen on our Trekkas as we were on their Holdens, and ultimately only about 100 examples of the Kiwi car were sold across the Tasman.
Five Trekkas were also flown to Vietnam in 1969 for civilian duties, including ambulance work with a New Zealand-run surgical hospital.
Legend has it that in 1969 General Motors also sent for a Trekka to be dispatched with great haste to Detroit. Nobody seems to know what happened next.