Velorex (1951)

Velorex (1951)

Velorex was originally a three-wheeled vehicle with a tubular frame covered with leatherette (the only homologated vehicle with a canvas body in the world). Its designers are brothers František (1914 – 1954) and Mojmír Stránští (1924 – 2011 [2]). Velorex was originally produced as a small series production of the Stránský brothers, later after nationalization in the Solnice co-operative as a wheelchair for the disabled. After the end of the production of three-wheeled Velorex (15,300 pieces), four-wheeled Velorexes (1,380 pieces) were still produced, but the fame of its three-wheeled predecessors was not achieved. Until the end of the 2nd millennium, it was enough to have a group A driver’s license (motorcycle) to drive a Velorex. It is currently necessary to have an A1 driving license (motorcycle from the age of 16). Velorexes can be found all over Europe, several of them also run in Asia, America and one even in Australia. The most famous of the Velorex played in the film Vrchní, prchni !, in which he was directed by Josef Abrhám. In the 3rd part of the Dobrá Voda Velorex series, Jiřina Bohdalová directed it. In the short story series Hvězdy nad Syslím Údolím, Velorex played extensively alongside Josef Dvořák and Zuzana Bydžovská. Velorex also appeared in the low-profile film Snapshots and appeared in the British show Top Gear, the three-wheeled Velorex appeared in the film Top Fathers and the four-wheeled Velorex appeared in the film Long Live the Ghosts. [3]

Several Velorex reunions take place each year. The first and at the same time the largest meeting in terms of the number of participants is the spring meeting in Boskovice. Another well-attended event was the Lipnice Castle in Lipnice nad Sázavou, in 2009 the tenth year of this event took place, which was the last year.