Laurin & Klement was a Czech automobile, motorcycle and bicycle manufacturing company founded in 1895 in Mladá Boleslav, Kingdom of Bohemia by automotive pioneers Václav Laurin and Václav Klement. Car production commenced in 1905, and the company soon became the largest car manufacturer in Austria-Hungary. It was acquired by industrial conglomerate Škoda Works in 1925 and re-branded as Škoda Auto, which is today the largest car manufacturer in the Czech Republic and a part of the Volkswagen Group.

A hood ornament, also called a motor mascot or car mascot, is a specially crafted model that symbolizes a car company, like a badge, located on the front center portion of the hood. It has been used as an adornment nearly since the inception of automobiles.