Clio Cup-Chasing Hardcore Fabia Planned

Fabia RS+ concept could spawn more focused Skoda vRS

Skoda looks set to bring a more focused version of its new Fabia vRS hot hatch to the UK - moving the supermini hot hatch much closer in spirit to the likes of cup versions of the Renaultsport Clio and Esseesse-tweaked Abarth Puntos.

Tucked away in the service park of the Czech rally (at which your humble hack was present, but more of that on PH soon) next to the Skoda UK dealer team's service area was this grey-and-painful-yellow Fabia, Skoda's RS+ concept from the recent Worthersee VW show.

All of which was well and good, but not that interesting, until a quiet word with the Skoda UK PR team revealed that the RS+ - or at least parts of it - may be coming to the UK to make a rather more focused Fabia vRS.

It's likely that many of the cosmetic add-ons, including the black grille surround, front bumper extensions and rear diffuser, will make it to the production car, though whether the bonnet vents - which ape the look of the S2000 Fabia rally car - will come is less certain.

Should the tweaks hit Blighty-bound Fabias, the upgraded Recaro-made seats are likely to make it, but the marmite grey-and-yellow colour scheme would probably be toned down.

There's no power upgrade planned - the car will stick with the VW group's 1.4-litre 180bhp turbocharged, supercharged motor - but new wheels (though the concept ones ones are taken directly from the rally car) and, crucially, tweaked suspension would be involved.

As for a name or a price for the model, your guesses are as good as ours as nothing is yet official. It may even be that the cosmetic and dynamic tweaks will merely come as dealer-fit options.

But whatever the result it's certainly going to make the hot Fabia a whole lot more interesting. A Fabia instead of a Renaulstsport Clio? These tweaks might make us think twice...

^{(then probably go for the Clio anyway)}