Powered by a turbocharged 1.6-litre four-pot, the four-wheel drive Fabia R 5 will likely produce close to 300bhp, sending drive through a five-speed sequential gearbox. It’ll weigh no less than 1230kg (in accordance with FIA rules), and sit on MacPherson struts, part of a suspension setup that’ll be adjustable to enable competition on stages ranging between smooth tarmac and tough off-road terrain.
The arrival of the concept coincides with Skoda’s promise to make its cars ‘more emotional,’ something seemingly illustrated with the R 5’s bold exterior design. With it’s bulging, squared off arches, taut proportions and eye-catching colour scheme, the Fabia R 5 certainly looks the part. Unsurprisingly, it’s generated lots of interest from customer teams for 2015.
The car the R 5 replaces, the Fabia Super 2000, enjoyed great success in 2014. It achieved title wins in the FIA European Rally Championship and FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship amongst others, so there’s certainly massive scope for the R 5 to be an even more competitive rally car.
If it ever finds itself up against Prodrive’s mighty VW Golf SCRC in an open-regs championship, it’ll certainly have to be…