Czech carmaker Skoda has dropped some details and sketches on a concept car it intends to show to the world at next week’s Paris motorshow, that serves a dual purpose: Beneath the skin it’ll pack what Skoda reckons will be the future of its performance RS-badged cars, while the form itself should give watchers the idea of what a new compact car from the marque should look like (a Rapid replacement, perhaps).
The Vision RS is a plug-in hybrid they say, mating a 1.5-litre four-pot TSI turbo mill to an electric motor, which is fed via a 13kWh battery pack. Total system output is rated at 180kW, which is enough to see the car sprint from rest to 100km/h in just 7.1-seconds, and onto a top-speed of 209km/h. Despite this, the versatility of the powertrain means that when you’re not living out a race-driver fantasy, the Vision RS should return about 1.4L/100km on the combined cycle.
Skoda did not go into much detail as to how it intends to recharge the Vision RS (insofar as the type of charge connector or the power source), but they claim a 2.5-hour recharge time from flat.
The Skoda Vision RS concept also puts on display what Skoda calls its “emotive new design language,” that sees the revision of the fascia treatment to incorporate a more angular, and more distinctive shape. The profile is very recognisable as a Skoda while at the rear, there’s an aggressive diffuser that’s highlighted by a full-width reflector element, above which sit a pair of inverted-J taillights that are certainly very striking.
The cabin is also the usual concept car affair with big screens and ambitious seat designs, but it wouldn’t be beyond reason to think a watered-down version could eventually make it into production. There’s a big centre infotainment screen, and what appears to be a digital instrument cluster, both of which are available throughout the Volkswagen Group’s cars. So it’s a question of packaging.
Regardless of what the Vision RS actually signifies, we’ll have a better idea of what it’s all about when the Paris Motorshow opens its doors on October 2nd. Be sure to stay locked onto CarShowroom as we bring you more updates as they come.
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