Photo: Skoda
Skoda kept true to its world and revealed the Rapid Sport Concept at the Worthersee meet in Austria. It's a very pretty car, and actually, something we'd like to see going into production.
The Rapid sedan has been designed from the start to be affordable, not fun, yet it's available with some peppy TSI engines and quick DSG gearboxes, leaving many to wonder if it can be made into a sports sedan. The problem with that idea is the the platform, which shares the front half of its components with superminis like the Fabia and Polo and the rear with an old Golf model.
Should a hot version of the car ever be considered, the 1.4-liter TSI engine is the unit for it. It's available in a number of outputs ranging from 122 hp to 190 hp, but either the turbo+supercharger 180 hp unit of the Fabia RS or the 140 hp one from Polo BlueGT would be the best candidates.
The hot 180 hp engine would take the sedan from 0 to 100 km/h in about 7 seconds, with city fuel consumption rated at about 7.7 l/100km. On the other hand, the 140 hp version of the 1.4 TSI would be about a second slower, but also about a 1l/100km more frugal thanks to cylinder deactivation tech.
There's another way in which Skoda could put a little bit of pep in the Rapid's step. The Fabia is available with the very cool "Monte Carlo" package, which includes sports suspension, large alloys, a new body kit, tinted lights and glass and a blacked out grille. It's no faster than a regular Fabia, but looks the absolute business. A similar approach could be taken the Rapid, though we'd much rather have an actual sport model.
This small liftback sedan is selling like hotcakes across Europe, and we think it would be a mistake not to offer the RS version. Such a production decision will only be made if the community demands it, which is why we want to hear what you Skoda owners and fans think they should do.
Should a hot version of the car ever be considered, the 1.4-liter TSI engine is the unit for it. It's available in a number of outputs ranging from 122 hp to 190 hp, but either the turbo+supercharger 180 hp unit of the Fabia RS or the 140 hp one from Polo BlueGT would be the best candidates.
The hot 180 hp engine would take the sedan from 0 to 100 km/h in about 7 seconds, with city fuel consumption rated at about 7.7 l/100km. On the other hand, the 140 hp version of the 1.4 TSI would be about a second slower, but also about a 1l/100km more frugal thanks to cylinder deactivation tech.
There's another way in which Skoda could put a little bit of pep in the Rapid's step. The Fabia is available with the very cool "Monte Carlo" package, which includes sports suspension, large alloys, a new body kit, tinted lights and glass and a blacked out grille. It's no faster than a regular Fabia, but looks the absolute business. A similar approach could be taken the Rapid, though we'd much rather have an actual sport model.
This small liftback sedan is selling like hotcakes across Europe, and we think it would be a mistake not to offer the RS version. Such a production decision will only be made if the community demands it, which is why we want to hear what you Skoda owners and fans think they should do.
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