An old Top Gear episode gave the idea to Skoda’s somewhat unusual marketing campaign.
2011-Ben a Top Gear In one of the broadcasts They tried to demonstrate the versatility and carrying capacity of the Skoda Yeti by landing a helicopter on a platform mounted on its roof rack. Now, ten years later, Skoda’s marketing department has discovered that it is worth reviving the scene with today’s model. The recently updated Kodiaq was selected for this, and to make sure some minor modifications were made to a large RV.
Prototyping designers from the Skoda Design department and experts from the Prototyping Department jointly designed and installed a flat platform to be used as a landing site instead of a roof rack. The steel but wood-topped landing site is attached to the SUV’s roof structure where the roof rails are naturally located, as this increases the roof’s bearing capacity and thus evenly distributes the weight of the ‘load’.
Careful planning was also required because the Robinson R22 helicopter, together with the pilot, weighed more than half a ton and the distance between its soles was greater than the width of the car. By the way, the Kodiaq production chassis was not modified, only the rear suspension was strengthened to maintain the balance of the axles even under heavy load.
When they finished the car, the rehearsal could have come. At first, the helicopter was lifted to the top of the Kodiaq by a crane, and when everything was found to be in order, an amazing landing could come after a short flight. Jan Sarmac, an experienced pilot, drove Robinson, who landed safely, exactly at the designated location. Later, the vehicle with the helicopter on its back was the main attraction of the Robinson’s helicopter session meeting held in Mladá Boleslav, but we do not know whether he boarded the helicopter there himself or boarded it again in the parking lot.
