Skoda Cardboard Car
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Project Year
2018
Client
Skoda
Skoda enlisted the expertise to create a remarkable centerpiece in honor of the Skoda Karoq’s debut, which ultimately led to the creation of the cardboard car.
Fondly dubbed the “Kid Karoq,” this life-sized cardboard automobile was conceived with the intent of showcasing the model as the “ultimate child-friendly car” on a global scale.
The meticulous craftsmanship behind this project demanded more than 600 hours of painstaking work to meticulously reconstruct every panel from the ground up. Given only a real car as a reference point, replicating it purely from a visual perspective posed a formidable challenge. However, the end result proved to be nothing short of spectacular, making all the hard work undeniably worthwhile.
The cardboard creation took 10 weeks to build and is exactly the same size as a real car- 4.4 metres long and 1.6 metres tall.
The interior of this remarkable creation embodies every child’s dream. Given that the “Kid Karoq” was designed to promote the car as the “world’s most child-friendly,” great care was taken to ensure that the interior of the cardboard masterpiece would resonate with the child in all of us. Since it represented the Karoq and its highly anticipated launch, the emphasis on quality was paramount.
The overall experience of the cardboard car was deemed nearly as significant as its physical construction itself. The underlying concept behind this statement piece was to present the SUV as the epitome of “world’s most kid-friendly” vehicles.
In a survey conducted by Skoda, 1,000 children under the age of 11 were asked about their ideal car features. The results revealed that the highest-rated features included the ability to play their favorite music (42.5%), having a tablet for playing and streaming programs (67.6%), and the inclusion of an integrated movie projector (35.4%)—perfect for watching beloved family films.
Given these survey results and the mandate to make it “child-friendly,” it was decided to incorporate everything a child could dream of and more into the interior.
Within the Kid Karoq, you’ll discover all the features highlighted in the survey, and there are even some extra surprises. Young drivers can hop into a meticulously crafted driver’s seat and enjoy a portable gaming console seamlessly integrated into the dashboard display.
The cardboard center console also hosts a digital tablet that manages a set of wireless Canton speakers, offering functionality mirroring many aspects of the real Karoq’s 9.2-inch Columbus infotainment system. This allows kids to select their preferred music without the annoyance of adults constantly changing tracks. Furthermore, in lieu of the LED ambient lighting found in the actual Karoq, children can groove to their heart’s content beneath the glow of a multi-colored disco ball.
At the heart of the Kid Karoq’s interior, a prominent attraction is the slide and ball pit, boasting an impressive collection of over 1,500 balls—a quantity that precisely matches the capacity of the real Karoq’s cavernous 1,810-liter boot space. Additional amenities encompass a WiFi hotspot, a movie projector, comfy bean bags for playtime, and a toy box. Remarkably, the design team ingeniously fashioned a concealed hideaway beneath the bonnet, equipped with cleverly disguised spy holes, allowing children to observe the outside world while tucked away in their secret den.
The construction of this cardboard masterpiece consumed a period of 10 weeks, meticulously crafting it to match the exact dimensions of a real car—measuring 4.4 meters in length and 1.6 meters in height.
The Skoda Karoq had a unique challenge ahead of it, not merely to stand out amidst a sea of new car launches but to completely steal the spotlight. The design and craftsmanship behind the Kid Karoq were truly impeccable, yet the pièce de résistance lay in the fusion of creativity and expertise demonstrated in the use of this unconventional material.
This extraordinary brand statement piece embarked on a European tour, proudly representing the car company at various international automotive exhibitions, where it undeniably became the star attraction of its own publicity campaign. It also played a prominent role in numerous advertisements, featuring two children interacting with the creation in the manner it was originally intended for.