Laurin & Klement was a bicycle, motorcycle and automobile manufacturer in Mladá Boleslav

Mladá Boleslav

Mladá Boleslav is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, on the left bank of the Jizera river about 50 km northeast of Prague.Founded in the second half of the 10th century by King Boleslav II as a royal castle...

, Bohemia

Bohemia

Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...

, at the time also known in German as Jungbunzlau, and a part of Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

 (Present Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

).

The company was founded in 1895, and named after founders: Václav Laurin

Václav Laurin

Vaclav Laurin was a Czech engineer, entrepreneur and industrialist.-Career:...

 (born 27 September 1865, died 4 December 1930), and Václav Klement

Václav Klement

Václav Klement - was a Czech automotive pioneer, co-founder of what is now Škoda Auto.-See also:* Laurin & 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

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

. In 1925 the company was acquired by the Škoda Works

Škoda Works

Škoda Works was the largest industrial enterprise in Austro-Hungary and later in Czechoslovakia, one of its successor states. It was also one of the largest industrial conglomerates in Europe in the 20th century...

, and operated henceforth under the brand Škoda Auto

Škoda Auto

Škoda Auto , more commonly known as Škoda, is an automobile manufacturer based in the Czech Republic. Škoda became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group in 2000, positioned as the entry brand to the group...

 (Škoda).

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)

External links

• Biography of company founders (in Czech)
• Brief history with lots of model images (in Czech)
• More technical details (in English)