Apologies for what seems like a running theme this week (cars you can’t actually buy) but the limited edition Skoda Fabia Rally2 is just too good - and too on the nose - for us not to quickly mention. The Fabia bears many of the same hallmarks as the Peugeot 208 Racing (i.e. its maker is doing loads of interesting things with the car in motorsport, but not replicating that effort in the retail model); the quickest and most interesting version you can buy in the UK is the Monte Carlo Edition with 150hp. And that isn’t quick or interesting.
Skoda’s Spanish division has apparently recognised this shortfall, and with the slightly tenuous excuse of celebrating the domestic Rally Super Championship titles previously won Jose Antonio ‘Cohete’ Suarez, it has declared its intention to build 100 examples of the very green, road-legal Rally2. Granted, the new model isn’t quite as exciting or as downright cool as the Superb Sleeper that Skoda UK revealed earlier this year - but that was a very souped-up one-off. In return for 30,900 euros (around £25k), the Rally2 is actually being offered to Spanish buyers. And things you can buy always outpoint things you can’t.
So what do you get? Well, it’s been lowered by 15mm (always a good start) onto 17-inch OZ Racing Superturismo WRC wheels. These get Michelin Pilot Sport 5 tyres, while the standard body gets a new rear spoiler, mudguards in matte black and a smattering of model-specific badges. While it hasn't exactly ripped the knob off, it's fair to say that it’s the best-looking Fabia we’ve seen. Possibly ever. And certainly it will be the quickest Mk4, thanks to the fitment of an ABT Sportsline power kit, which ups the 1.5-litre TSI’s output to a much more respectable 190hp and 214lb ft of torque. Skoda has announced no performance figures, but you’d expect it - via the standard seven-speed DSG - to take a sizeable bite out of the Fabia’s 8.0-second-to-62mph time.
Probably not sufficient to set your hair on fire, although that’s not really the point of warmed-up superminis; the idea is that look better and go quicker than standard, but don’t cost very many additional pounds to buy and run. In the UK, a Monte Carlo Edition costs £25,780 before options. While doubtless worthy in its own limited way, it is essentially of zero interest to anyone who enjoys driving for its own sake. In stark contrast, the Rally2, without breaking the bank or tweaking the underlying formula beyond recognition, is sufficiently spunky in this day and age for it to pop on the PH radar like the Goodyear blimp. So if you’re listening, Skoda UK - this. Or a limited edition version of the Sleeper. Pretty please.
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