Photo: Joao Kleber Amaral
Introduced in 1999 as the successor to the award-winning Felicia, the Volkswagen Group-developed Fabia received the RS go-faster treatment in 2003 in the guise of a 1.9-liter turbo diesel with 130 metric horsepower on tap. The final example of the breed rolled off the production line in 2013 with a twin-charged gasoline powerplant.
The Fabia received a well-deserved redesign the following year, but as you’re well aware, the beancounters at Volkswagen couldn’t make a case for a hot hatchback. Skoda discontinued every single four-cylinder mill in 2017, leaving the Fabia with the anemic 1.0 MPI and the slightly pokier 1.0 TSI.
Happily for the subcompact hatchback, Skoda was allowed to switch to the MQB A0 vehicle architecture and the four-pot 1.5 TSI for the 2022 model year. The Czech automaker axed the Fabia Combi project last month due to increased electrification costs and the incoming Euro 7 emission standard, which paints a bleak picture for the return of the Fabia RS. None other than chief executive officer Thomas Schafer let it slip that a feisty version isn’t coming because it’s hard to justify the investment for such a niche product.
Alas, the rendering before your eyes will have to suffice. Joao Kleber Amaral is the pixel wizard behind the design study that’s more akin to the Monte Carlo than the RS. The dual-piped exhaust system is particularly comical in comparison to the rear-end styling of the Volkswagen Polo GTI.
Speaking of which, the Wolfsburg-based automaker intends to replace the Polo with an electric vehicle sometime in 2025. So far, the Volkswagen Group has teased a couple of indirect replacements in the form of the ID. Life Concept (the future ID. 1) and Cupra UrbanRebel Concept (the ID. 2).
As for the most obvious reason why the Fabia RS won’t come back, don’t forget that European motorists have shifted to SUVs in the past few years.
Happily for the subcompact hatchback, Skoda was allowed to switch to the MQB A0 vehicle architecture and the four-pot 1.5 TSI for the 2022 model year. The Czech automaker axed the Fabia Combi project last month due to increased electrification costs and the incoming Euro 7 emission standard, which paints a bleak picture for the return of the Fabia RS. None other than chief executive officer Thomas Schafer let it slip that a feisty version isn’t coming because it’s hard to justify the investment for such a niche product.
Alas, the rendering before your eyes will have to suffice. Joao Kleber Amaral is the pixel wizard behind the design study that’s more akin to the Monte Carlo than the RS. The dual-piped exhaust system is particularly comical in comparison to the rear-end styling of the Volkswagen Polo GTI.
Speaking of which, the Wolfsburg-based automaker intends to replace the Polo with an electric vehicle sometime in 2025. So far, the Volkswagen Group has teased a couple of indirect replacements in the form of the ID. Life Concept (the future ID. 1) and Cupra UrbanRebel Concept (the ID. 2).
As for the most obvious reason why the Fabia RS won’t come back, don’t forget that European motorists have shifted to SUVs in the past few years.
Google News