Quirky Skoda Felicia Fun Pick-Up Truck Reimagined by AI
While the Skoda Felicia Fun pick-up truck of the 1990s might not be the first model to come to mind as crying out for a reboot, the Czech firm has done so anyway with a thoroughly modern interpretation of the quirky limited run oddity.
A luridly painted small pick-up truck based on the humble underpinnings of the Skoda Felicia hatchback, little more than 4,000 examples of the original Skoda Felicia Fun made it onto the road – not that you’d forget seeing one.
Available only in canary yellow – a paint scheme that found its way onto the everything from the bumpers to the wheel trims to even the steering wheel – the ‘Fun’ was spectacular in its absurdity.
To be accurate, a more docile pick-up version of the Skoda Felicia already existed, serving those who needed a cheap, agriculture load lugger in lieu of rear seats.
The Fun was a spin-off that attempted to tap into the burgeoning lifestyle pick-up truck movement for a market of people didn’t mind the endless stares from bewildered – and briefly blinded – passers-by.
Point is, it has transcended into cult status to an extent that the rare specimen is now sought after on the classic car scene. It goes some way to explaining why Skoda has gone ahead and paid tribute to it by imagining what a 2025 rendition of the Fun would look like.
Now, while the original model might have been the very definition of back-to-basics frivolity, this revival couldn’t be more contemporary in its conception.
Indeed, the image presented here was created during an ‘AI brainstorm’ with designers tasking the generators to ‘draw inspiration from the brand’s rich history to create a contemporary interpretation of the legendary car’.
While ‘legendary’ is perhaps a stretch, the AI Skoda Felicia Fun does a solid job of getting us a little bit excited about the potential for such a model.
With no modern-day Felicia – which was replaced by the Fabia in 2000 – to draw directly from, the AI has therefore dipped into Skoda’s current catalogue of new models and developed a more aggressive, but still discernibly chunky, front fascia complete with clamshell bonnet, signature pink flash on the lower grille and some Miami Vice typeface.
In fact, shocking pink – along with that signature yellow paint – is a theme throughout the design with a full-width light-bar at the rear and inserts on the wheels also bearing the hallmark.
It is, however, difficult to get an idea of the proportions based on these AI images, while you’d be hard-pressed to see much of the original Felicia Fun in this design beyond the colour scheme. However, the solid B-pillar which holds the bulkhead has been carried over.
Discussing the decision to delegate design duties to rapidly advancing AI methods, Skoda designer (and part-time ChatGPT user) says: “I researched the car, then tested different prompts and tweaked them in AI to create initial concepts that captured the spirit of the original. This allowed me to explore possible directions quickly and decide how to proceed.”
Alas, the outcome of this design study means there is probably a greater chance of AI being integrated into future model development than us getting a new Skoda Felicia Fun.
Which is a shame... but at least it gave us a good reason to give the original Skoda Felicia Fun some much deserved airtime.
