This Tricked-Out Concept Truck Was Built By Automotive Design Students

How would you grade it?

It’s no secret that America makes the world’s best pickup trucks, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some intriguing examples being built across the pond.

Enter the Skoda Mountiaq concept pickup. Apprentices at the Volkswagen-owned Czech automaker’s vocational school spent more than 2,000 hours into crafting the flaming orange one-off to show off their automotive design skills.

Beginning with Skoda Kodiaq crossover, the students reinforced the body before chopping off the roof to create room for a flat bed, fully-integrated tailgate and new windows. 

To give it more off-road capability, they also lifted the body up to 11.5 inches and equipped 17-inch wheels with off-road tires. And that’s just the beginning. 

Gear Patrol has further details: 

If there was an overlanding mantra, it’d have to be, “Accessorize, accessorize, accessorize” — and that they did. 

The snorkel air intake standing proudly ready for business up front is probably the first thing an onlooker might notice.

Below that is mounted a custom-built brush guard housing a specially-designed winch for the worst off-road problems that come along.

The addition of a full light bar and fog lights, as well as grill, engine bay and bed lighting, shows a playful mixture of practical and creative illumination choices.

The student designers even added a refrigerator, a pair of walkie-talkies, and myriad special Montiaq logos throughout the truck; you can spot them stitched into the seats and featured on the 3D-printed wheel hub ornaments.

Busy, but interesting. If we have one major complaint, it’s that they didn’t swap out the stock turbocharged, 2.0-liter inline-four for something that packs more than a paltry 187 horsepower. 

Nice try kids, but we’ll take Hennessey Perfromance’s 1,000-horsepower Jeep Gladiator over the Skoda Mountiaq any day.