Laurin & Klement was a Czech automobile, motorcycle and bicycle manufacturing company founded in 1895 in Mladá Boleslav, Kingdom of Bohemia by automotive pioneers Václav Laurin and Václav Klement. Car production commenced in 1905, and the company soon became the largest car manufacturer in Austria-Hungary. It was acquired by industrial conglomerate Škoda Works in 1925 and re-branded as Škoda Auto, which is today the largest car manufacturer in the Czech Republic and a part of the Volkswagen Group.

History

The company was founded in 1895 and engaged in the production of new bicycles as well as doing repairs, their first bicycles being called Slavia. The company was named after its two founders: Václav Laurin (born 27 September 1865, died 4 December 1930), and Václav Klement (born 16 October 1868, died 13 August 1938).

Car production commenced in 1905, and the company soon became the largest car manufacturer in Austria-Hungary. In 1925 the company was acquired by the Škoda Works, and operated henceforth under the brand Škoda Auto (Škoda).

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Image:Laurin & Klement founders 1895.jpg|Founders Václav Klement (left) and Václav Laurin (right, both highlighted) next to the Czechoslovak president Tomáš Masaryk

File:Skoda-museum-mlada-boleslav-rr-034.jpg|Laurin & Klement logo

Image:2014 Škoda Museum, L&K Škoda 110 01.JPG|Škoda and Laurin & Klement hood ornament and plaques

Image:Laurin and Klement statue in Mlada Boleslav, Czechia.jpg|Statue of Laurin & Klement at the Škoda Museum

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Models

  • Laurin & Klement A (1905)
  • Laurin & Klement B (1906)
  • Laurin & Klement C (1906)
  • Laurin & Klement E (1906)
  • Laurin & Klement B2 (1907)
  • Laurin & Klement C2 (1907)
  • Laurin & Klement FC (1907) (racing car)
  • Laurin & Klement FCS (1908) (racing car)
  • Laurin & Klement BS (1908)
  • Laurin & Klement EN (1909)
  • Laurin & Klement FCR (1909) (racing car)
  • Laurin & Klement ENS (1910)
  • Laurin & Klement T / Ta (1914)
  • Laurin & Klement MK6 (Laurin & Klement MK6 / 445 / 450) (1920)
  • Laurin & Klement A (1922) (Laurin & Klement A / 100) (1922)
  • Laurin & Klement 105 (1923)
  • Laurin & Klement 150 (1923)
  • Laurin & Klement 350 (1925)
  • Laurin & Klement 110 (1925)
  • Laurin & Klement 120 (1925)
  • Škoda 360 (Laurin & Klement 360) (1926)

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File:2014 Škoda Museum, L&K motocykleta typ B 1902 01.JPG|Laurin & Klement Typ 1 motorcycle (1903)

File:13-04-05-Skoda Museum Mladá Boleslav by RalfR-068.jpg|Laurin & Klement tricycle

File:2014 Škoda Museum, L&K Voiturette typ A 1906 01.JPG|Laurint & Klement Typ A (1906)

File:12-01-11-autostadt-wolfsburg-by-RalfR-301.jpg|Laurin & Klement Typ A

File:13-04-05-Skoda Museum Mladá Boleslav by RalfR-097.jpg|Laurin & Klement S

File:2014 Škoda Museum, L&K typ SG 1913 01.JPG|Laurin & Klement S

File:1921Laurin & Klement 200 pic3.JPG|Laurin & Klement S

File:Vintage truck in Prague.jpg|Laurin & Klement bus

File:Laurin & Klement RK-M (1913-1921).jpg|Laurin & Klement RK-M

File:13-04-05-Skoda Museum Mladá Boleslav by RalfR-096.jpg|Laurin & Klement Škoda 110

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See also

  • List of motorcycles of 1900 to 1909

References

  • Biography of company founders (in Czech)
  • Brief history with many model images (in Czech)