What’s a hatch without a hot variant, right?
Czech carmaker Skoda are launching one successful RS-badged model after another it seems, and the time’s come to consider adding another model to the well-received lineup of hot alternatives. After the Octavia & Kodiaq, Skoda have identified space for another one of their cars to get the RS treatment, and it’s perhaps the most natural recipient of them all: The Scala hatchback.
It was at the edges of the Geneva motor show where Skoda’s sales & marketing boss told AutoExpress that there’s serious consideration towards a hotter version of the Scala, albeit only at preliminary levels presently.
“Officially we have not decided anything but yes, we are considering a Scala RS. As far as I’m concerned, it would make sense for us to have one. The reality is that we have been extremely successful with the Octavia RS. And early signs for the Kodiaq RS are encouraging; it is hitting its targets more and more. So even in a package which is not a conventional sports car, a sporty version makes a lot of sense.” – Alain Favey, Board Member (Sales & Marketing), Skoda Auto
The appeal of hotter variants of existing models, particularly hatchbacks like the Scala, means that an RS model doesn’t need to prove its business case. And considering that the Scala shares quite a bit of its important bits with the current-generation Volkswagen Golf, there’s no denying that there’s quite a bit of potency to be realised from the chassis and drivetrain.
But the big question of the moment concerns emissions, and a hot variant of any new car won’t do so well in terms of range-wide emissions figures. To that end, the Scala RS could appear as a hybrid, just like what we were shown when it was teased as the Skoda Vision RS last year. With a total 180kW on offer from its 1.5-litre turbo-petrol mated to an electric motor it most certainly wasn’t slow, and the 70km all-electric range and miserly 1.4L/100km claimed fuel figure meant it can’t spit out that much nasty stuff out the butt.
While Skoda might still be weighing its options insofar as the Scala RS is concerned, we’re sold. We know that the chassis & powertrain have plenty to give, and it’s just a matter of Skoda hitting the ‘Go’ button and letting their engineers work their magic. If they make it, we’ll buy it, and we know that we won’t be the only ones banging down the doors of our local Skoda dealer.
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