A bold beginning
Mechanic Václav Laurin and bookseller Václav Klement founded the ‘Slavia’ bicycle workshop in Mladá Boleslav just before Christmas 1895. The success of their modern, high-quality products allowed them to transition to more efficient factory production, which accelerated the expansion of their range. In the autumn of 1898, Václav Klement set his sights on the emerging motorcycle segment. By spring 1899, L&K was offering bicycle owners an auxiliary petrol engine, but it soon became clear that the future lay in fully-fledged motorcycles – and Laurin & Klement dedicated themselves to developing them.
Unique technical solutions
The intuitive technician Václav Laurin rejected the prevailing concept of positioning the petrol engine directly above the powered front wheel for his motorcycle, as it did not meet his standards for handling and reliability. He addressed these issues by placing the engine centrally within the frame, closer to the motorcycle’s centre. This not only improved the weight distribution but also protected the single-cylinder engine, fuel tank with an evaporative carburettor, and ignition system from mechanical damage with a tubular frame structure. This design later became the global standard. Additionally, Laurin replaced the previously used platinum tube heated by an external flame with his own electromagnetically based ignition system.
On Saturday, 18 November 1899, the first two single-cylinder L&K Slavia motorcycles were officially unveiled at the cycling track in Prague-Bubny: the Type A with a 184 cc engine producing 1.25 hp (0.9 kW), priced at 460 guldens, and the more powerful Type B with 240 cc and 1.75 hp (1.3 kW) for 500 guldens. The rear wheel was driven by a leather belt, with speeds reaching 30 km/h and 40 km/h, respectively. The new models were a great success in foreign markets, including the United Kingdom and Germany. The motorcycles earned such a strong reputation that from 1904, Slavia single- and twin-cylinder models were manufactured under license in Dresden as ‘Germania’. That same year, L&K introduced the Type CCCC, one of the world’s first four-cylinder motorcycles. This series of achievements culminated in victory at the unofficial motorcycle world championship in Dourdan, Paris (1905).
The shift to automobiles
At the height of their motorcycle era, Václav Laurin and Václav Klement were already setting their sights on automobile development. In April 1905, a new one-litre two-cylinder engine was unveiled in Prague, making its debut under the bonnet of the first L&K automobile, the Voiturette A, later that autumn. Motorcycle production in Mladá Boleslav ceased in 1910, with an estimated 3,500 to 4,500 units built. Models such as the 1902 Type B, the 1904 Type L, and the 1906 twin-cylinder motorcycle CCD are on display at the Škoda Museum in Mladá Boleslav.
In 1907, the company presented the luxurious open-top L&K FF (1907) – the first inline eight-cylinder in Central Europe. Around the same time, in collaboration with electrical engineering pioneer František Křižík, it developed a hybrid vehicle based on the Laurin & Klement E four-cylinder, equipped with two DC electric motors. The impressive 125-year tradition of engine development and manufacturing in Mladá Boleslav, which began with the Type A and B motorcycle models in 1899, continues to this day.