Skoda Introduces Fabia R2 Rally Car for the Masses

The VW Group’s Czech subsidiary Skoda has unveiled the Fabia R2, a new race-spec mode intended for the popular R2 rally category. Based on the series production Fabia, the R2 features significant changes to the engine, chassis, suspension and gearbox.

Compared to the road car, the Fabia R2 has a rally-tuned suspension and a modified chassis, while the engine is a naturally aspirated 1.6-liter gasoline unit with 16 valves that develops 132 kW (177 horsepower) and 194 Nm of peak torque (143 lb-ft) at 5,500 rpm. The engine is mated to a five-speed sequentially operated gearbox made by Sadev, with the electronics coming from Italian specialist Magneti-Marelli.

“It’s great that from now on, we’re offering a rally vehicle for a wider range of customers looking for a reliable and affordable race car. Given our successful tradition and development in motor sports beyond the Czech Republic, the new Fabia R2 is just a logical result of our activities,” said Jan Hurt, Skoda manager for sales and marketing for the Central and Eastern European region.

The car was developed, tested and prepared for rallies for almost two years, with the help of motor sports specialist Impromat Car, which will also assume the distribution of the vehicle.

The Skoda Fabia R2 has received the FIA homologation and can participate in rallies right away, but not before the owner pays a purchase price of €62,000 or about $86,200 at today’s exchanges rates.

By Dan Mihalascu

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Geneva 2011: Skoda's Fabia Monte Carlo Special is all Show, No Go

Skoda's offerings at the 2011 Geneva Salon include a new special edition version of the Fabia supermini that is said to have been created to celebrate 100 years of the Monte Carlo Rally, and commemorate the 110 year anniversary of the brand's motorsport efforts.

But despite its catchy nameplate, the Fabia Monte Carlo fails to deliver as the only sporty thing about the Czech automaker's supermini are some bespoke styling features. These include the piano-black body trim, smoked headlamps and black 17-inch alloys on the outside, and leather steering wheel, handbrake, and gearstick gaiter with red stitching, plus silver kick plates and steel pedals inside.

Buyers in Europe can choose from the standard model's engine lineup including the 86/105 hp 1.2-liter TSI petrol and 75/105 hp 1.6-liter TDI diesel units, all coupled to a 5-speed manual transmission.

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Skoda Posts Record Worldwide Sales in First Half of 2011

Skoda revealed today that it delivered 454,700 vehicles in the first half of 2011, which represents an increase of 20.1% compared to the same period in 2010. The Volkswagen Group brand also achieved its best ever June sales, with 81,300 deliveries, compared to 71,300 units in 2010, scoring a new sales record for the fourth month in a row.

In the UK, the Czech carmaker recorded its best ever year, with more than 24,000 vehicles, while in the rest of Western Europe it expanded its market share and achieved an increase of 11.1%.

Skoda also did well in emerging markets: in China, it sold a record number of 112,200 cars; in Russia June was its best month ever with an increase of 33.6% and more than 7,000 sales, while the same month in India, it almost doubled its sales with 2,300 cars.

Skoda models sales for the first half of 2011:

Octavia (34,500 vehicles / +20.0%)

Fabia (24,800 vehicles / +17.1%)

Superb (10,900 vehicles / +3.9%)

Yeti (6,300 vehicles / +23.5%)

Roomster (3,300 vehicles / +4.9%)

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Live from Wörthersee: Skoda’s Hot Fabia RS 2000 Concept

Not that the Skoda Fabia RS 2000 Concept needed any help to draw the attention of automotive fans at the Wörthersee show, but the Volkswagen Group was t enough to bring some very pretty faces (and bodies…) to the Czech firm’s stand. You can get a better look at the car and the girls in whichever order you prefer in our high resolution photo gallery right after the jump.

For those of you still with us, we’ll remind you that the Fabia RS 2000 Concept is an open-air version of the widened-up Fabia S2000 rally car sporting the same heavily modified 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine driving all four wheels.

If you managed to keep your eyes of the girls, you may have noticed some of the changes Skoda made to the exterior including the side windows, the bespoke cover behind the rear headrests and the black boot lid spoiler.

The concept’s interior was crafted after the normal Fabia RS (vRS in the UK) and features a set of bucket sports seats up front and more carbon fiber accents than a NASA parts cupboard.

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Skoda Shows Fabia RS 2000 Convertible Concept at Wörthersee Festival

Over the 30 years of its existence, the Wörthersee Tour in Austria has developed from a small exclusive event for owners of the Golf GTi to a large happening connecting all brands of the ever-growing Volkswagen Group. Joining the production Golf GTI Edition 35 and the wild Audi A1 clubsport quattro concept at this year’s show is a prototype model from Skoda called the RS 2000 Concept.

Prepared especially for the anniversary meeting, the concept is a design study for an extreme convertible based on the five-door Fabia Super 2000 rally car. Skoda did not released any official information on the car’s mechanical hardware, but it very likely that the study keeps the rally model’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine linked to a six-speed sequential transmission and a four-wheel drive system with three passive differentials.

Aside from losing its top, the Skoda concept gains a rakish windscreen and speedster-like side windows. It is finished in a racing green color and features the rally car’s wide body kit with blistered wheel arches that house white alloy wheels. Inside, the concept features four-independent seats with a bespoke leather treatment.

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Gerhard Plattner Does it again: Drives Skoda Fabia GreenLine 2,006 km / 1,246 Miles on a Single Tank of Fuel

We're not sure if you know this, but there's a world champion in economy driving out there and his name is Gerhard Plattner. He's the kind of guy you'd want as a driver on your gas-guzzling car now that oil prices have hit the roof.

However, the Austrian champ has better things to do, like driving a Skoda Fabia GreenLine from Austria to Denmark and back on a single 45-liter (11.9 gallons US or 9.9 gallons UK) tank of diesel fuel. He covered a distance of 2,006 kilometers in a Skoda Fabia GreenLine without ever having to refuel the eco-friendly diesel car.

Plattner started his journey on May 10 in Reutte, Austria, reached Bov in Denmark and drove all the way back, travelling most of the distance on motorways. The 1.2-liter diesel engined Skoda averaged just 2.2 liters/100 km, which is equal to 106.4 mpg US and 127.8 mpg UK, on the 2,006-kilometer long journey. For the record, the official average fuel consumption of the Fabia GreenLine is 3.4 liters/100 km (69.2 mpg US or 83.1 mpg UK).

The refueling of the car, as well as Plattner's entire trip, were supervised by International Police Motor Corporation (IPMC) that also sealed the tank before the start of the challenge.

So how did he do it? We don't know, otherwise we would have been world champions in economy driving. And Plattner for sure is not willing to disclose his secrets. Here's all he had to say about this:

“With a fuel consumption well below the specified norm, I want to show that besides the car manufacturers, every driver can contribute to further reduce this environmental pollution. It already starts with small details such as the proper tire pressure." If only that was enough...

By Dan Mihalascu

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