Skoda Drops Teaser Sketches and Images of the 2013 Rapid Sedan

After our revealing spy shots of the European market 2013 Skoda Rapid, there's really not much left to show about the Czech automaker's entry in the compact sedan category.

However, if you're still wondering what the front and rear ends of the car will look like without the craftily positioned decals on the lights, here are some official design sketches and cropped images of the final production model.

First seen in showcar trim as the Mission L concept at last year's Frankfurt Motor Show, the production Rapid will make its first public appearance in Paris this September and hit dealerships across Europe before the end of the year.

Despite its saloon appearance, the rear window lifts together with the boot revealing a capacious 500 liters of space.

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New Skoda Super Combi Outdoor is All Show, No Go

The crossover-ish station wagon craze over at the Volkswagen Group continues with the presentation of the new Skoda Superb Combi Outdoor.

However, unlike the VW Passat Alltrack, the Audi A4 and A6 Allroad and even Skoda's own Octavia Scout, the Superb Combi Outdoor is only about the looks, as it doesn't get a higher ride or a modified suspension nor any protective underbody plates.

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BT Design's ETAPE Concept Converts Skoda Yeti Into a Sporty Pickup Truck

Making its world premiere at this week's 2012 Auto Mobil International Show (AMI) in Leipzig, Germany, is a new concept model for a small Skoda pickup truck from BT Design, a subsidiary of Benet Automotive (BA), a Czech company that works closely with Skoda Auto.

The ETAPE Concept is based on the production Skoda Yeti, itself a compact crossover model. The Czech company says that the only part of the car that remained unchanged is the bonnet.

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Skoda Launches New Motorsport Themed Bicycle Lineup for 2012

Skoda may not be German, but it is owned and run by Germans, and as any other mainstream brand that belongs to the Volkswagen Group, it too offers a bicycle lineup.

The Czech automaker's new bicycle range for 2012 comprises seven models for a different range of uses and age groups, all of which are themed after the ŠKODA Motorsport team and are finished in green and white.

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Scoop: Skoda Prepares Yeti Crossover for its First Facelift

It's makeover time for Skoda's entry in the popular compact crossover segment. Since the Yeti has not been around for that long as it was launched onto the European market in 2009, there are no big changes for this mid-life refresh, just a few cosmetic tweaks here and there to keep it looking fresh. Read more »

Scoop: First Interior Photos of New Skoda Rapid

Last Tuesday we brought you spy shots of a virtually undisguised Skoda Rapid prototype showing us what the compact sedan will look like on the outside.

Today, we can share the first scoop inside the new Rapid as our man with the long lens not only caught up with another test car, this time finished in red, but he was also able to come close enough to snag the interior.

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Spied: All-New Skoda Rapid Compact Sedan Caught Undisguised

Czech carmaker Skoda is more or less done hiding its Rapid sedan prototypes, one of which was snagged by our scoop photographers while running around the Nürburgring racetrack in Germany.

Skoda's engineers simply applied some convincing, but fake, decals on the tail lamps, the top part of the headlamps, and the rear door lines, just to keep our spies on their toes.

Other than that, what you see in these pictures is what European buyers will get when the compact sedan model makes its first public outing at the Paris Motor Show this September before reaching dealerships at the end of the year.

The European market Rapid (Skoda also sells a smaller and unrelated Rapid sedan in India) is the production variant of the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show Mission L Concept.

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Did This Man Really Light up a Match to Look into the Gas Tank?

We cannot say for sure that the driver of this Skoda Octavia lit up a match to see if his tank was full while filling up at a gas station, as claimed by the poster of the video, though admittedly, at around 30 seconds into the clip, we see him reaching into his pocket and then doing something near the fuel cap.

Whatever he did, his actions sparked a very dangerous fire. And just to make a bad situation worse, out came the gas station employee, who only by sheer luck put out the flames... Watch the video after the break and you will see what we mean.

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Cars and Girls from the 2012 Wörthersee GTI Tour [125 Photos]

It is by far the biggest gathering of Volkswagen Group fans in the world and it takes place every year at Lake Wörthersee in Austria, which lends its name to the event.

The 31st Wörthersee GTI fest kicked off on Wednesday, May 16, and will continue to entertain Volkswagen as well as Audi, Seat and Skoda owners and enthusiasts in more ways than one (as you will soon see in the pictures below…) for another two days until Saturday, May 19.

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Skoda's New Citigo Rally Car Concept in the Flesh from Wörthersee

Czech carmaker Skoda secured an exhibition area of more than 600 square meters at the world's largest gathering of Volkswagen Group enthusiasts at Lake Wörthersee in Austria to display a number of its models.

Following the impressive Fabia RS Convertible Rally Car Concept at last year's Wörthersee festival, Skoda once again opted for a race-inspired study to spearhead its presentation.

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Skoda to Debut Citigo Rally and DJ Concepts at the 2012 Wörthersee Tour

This week's 2012 Wörthersee Tour will see Skoda revealing two new concept cars of its Citigo mini, which is based on the Volkswagen Up!.

For the time being, we only get a single sketch of Skoda's study for a Citigo Rally car that will boast a widened body with flared wheel arches housing 18-inch alloy wheels, a roof scoop and a large rear wing along with a race-spec interior featuring a protective roll cage.

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Skoda Produces Two-Millionth Octavia

It took Skoda 12 years and two generations to produce its two-millionth Octavia model. The milestone-marking vehicle, a silver Octavia Scout 2.0 TDI, was produced today at the Czech carmaker’s home plant in Vrchlabí. The first generation Octavia, based on the VW Golf, was launched into the market in 1996. In 2004, Skoda presented the second-generation model but since the older model was still popular with customers, the company keeps producing it under the Octavia Tour mark.

The production of Octavia Tour is located in Vrchlabí with assembly points in Skoda’s plants in India, Russia, Kazakhstan, the Ukraine and Bosnia. Since 2007, the vehicle has been manufactured in China under a license production arrangement. The Skoda Octavia is called Laura in India and Ming Rui in China. -Continued

Altogether the Company has produced 1,315,000 first-generation Octavias and 685,000 second-generation Octavias since the market launch in 2004. Skoda delivered 72,529 Octavia Tour vehicles and 237,422 Octavias in 2007.

Geneva Show: 2009 Skoda Superb GreenLine

Along with the standard versions of the new Superb, Skoda also took the wraps off the Superb GreenLine at the Geneva Show. The name GreenLine adorns Skoda models with optimised efficiency that exhibit reduced consumption. The Superb GreenLine is equipped with a 1.9-liter 4-cylinder turbo diesel engine with an output of 105 Hp.

Improvements include the fine tuning of the front design to enhance the airflow parameters. Also, by lowering the chassis by 15 mm the forefront area has been reduced creating better airflow under the chassis. The reduction in weight in the new Superb GreenLine has also been helpful in reducing fuel consumption. For example, instead of the spare wheel in the boot there is now a tire repair set on board. These measures result to an avg. fuel consumption of 5.1 lt of diesel per 100 km or 46.1 MPG (US), which corresponds to 136 g/km of CO2 emissions. –Image gallery after the jump

Ultra Frugal Skoda Fabia Greenline Available in the UK

Skoda’s UK network is now taking orders for the frugal 1.4 TDI Fabia GreenLine with the first customer deliveries expected from the 21st of April. Thanks to the additional aerodynamic panels being fitted to the underside of the chassis, the replacement of the spare tyre with a puncture repair kit and the raising of the front bumper by 35mm, the diesel-powered Fabia 1.4 TDI Greenline boast an avg. fuel consumption of 57.4 MPG US (69 MPG UK or 4.1-liters per 100 km) on the combined cycle and CO₂ figures of 109g/km. -Continued

That means that on a single tank of diesel a Fabia GreenLine driver can expect to cover an incredible 689 miles or 75 miles more than the stanbard Fabia 1.4 TDI. Buyers can opt for either hatchback or estate versions of this latest addition to the Fabia family, which cost £11,490 and £12,140 respectively.

2009 Skoda Superb: Official Details & Pictures

Skoda has unveiled the first official photographs and details of the all-new Superb that will make its world debut at the Geneva Motor Show on the 4th of March, 2008. While the new Superb differs in design from the VW Passat – as opposed to the outgoing model which was a carbon copy of the previous Passat, we doubt that it will win any beauty contests…

At 4,838mm long and 1,783mm wide the new Superb is 35mm longer and 18mm wider than its predecessor. It stands at 1,461mm high and has a wheel base of 2,761mm - 8mm lower and 42mm shorter respectively than the model it replaces. -Continued after the jump

The upper-medium notchback (5door-sedan) will be offered with a total of up to six, VW Group derived, engines - three petrol and three diesel units delivering from 105bhp to 260bhp. All engine units will be combined with a selection of manual or DSG transmissions.

The Superb’s features include adaptive cornering headlamps, a new electronic air conditioning system, automatic parking assist and nine airbags. The Superb will be manufactured in the Skoda’s Kvasiny plant in the Czech Republic and will go on sale in Europe during the second half of the year.

Skoda To Introduce New Minicar Based On The VW up!

Volkswagen’s Czech subsidiary Skoda is planning to introduce a new minicar in order to meet growing demand for small cars in emerging markets. In an interview with FTD (Financial Times Deutschland) Skoda’s boss, Reinhard Jung said that he believes that there is still space beneath the Fabia, which is currently the company’s smallest and cheapest model.

Skoda’s minicar will utilize the platform and underpinnings of the production version of VW’s up! Concept. Jung told FTD that the new model will play a key role in expanding production in Skoda's plants in Russia, India and China.

2009 Skoda Superb: First Official Picture

We’ve obtained the first official –and totally uncovered- image of the 2009 Skoda Superb sedan that will be presented at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show next March. According to the teaser release we acquired, Skoda supports that the second-generation Superb is going to offer “a generously-sized interior with a number of smart solutions and technologies”. The Czech carmaker’s flagship model is loosely based on the same architecture as the VW Passat. -Continued after the jump

Unlike the current 4door model, the new Superb will get a more versatile 5door (liftback) layout like the smaller Octavia. Though VW’s Czech subsidiary hasn’t released details yet, the range will most likely consist of the 140 HP 1.4 TSI, 160 HP 1.8 TSI and 200 HP 2.0 TSI gasoline engines and the 1.9 TDI and 2.0 TDI diesel units with various outputs. Later on, Skoda will probably add a V6 engine option.

New Skoda Fabia Sport

Czech carmaker Skoda unveiled a new addition to its U.K. Fabia line-up, the Sport which will sit atop the supermini range alongside the current Fabia 3 flagship. Compared to the standard versions, the Fabia Sport gets a new front spoiler, 16-inch alloy wheels, boot spoiler, a chrome exhaust pipe and rear diffuser. Prices start at £10,660 and £11,735 respectively for the 1.2 12V (70bhp) and 1.6 16V (105bhp) petrols. The diesel duo cost £12,115 for the 1.4 TDI (80bhp) and £12,795 for the larger 1.9TDI (105bhp). The first deliveries are expected at the end of January 2008.

2008 Skoda Superb Testing In Death Valley

Just like VW did with the Tiguan back in June, Skoda invited a handful of journalist to test out a development prototype of the all-new Superb in Death Valley, USA. Although initial rumors talked about a Frankfurt Show debut when uncamouflaged pictures were leaked into the net (click here), the second-generation Superb will make its first public appearance at the Geneva Show in March, 2008. -Continued after the jump

Loosely based on the platform of the VW Passat, Skoda’s new flagship model will dump the 4door sedan layout of the current Superb in favour of a 5door notchback style body. Targeted directly towards mid-size sedans like the Ford Mondeo, Opel Vectra and Renault Laguna, the new Superb will be offered with a wide range of diesel and petrol engines, including the 140Hp 1.4 TSI and 160Hp 1.8 TSI petrol units. Sales are expected to start shortly after the Geneva Show.

Via: Auto.cz

Skoda Confirms Yeti SUV, Production Starts In 2009

VW’s Czech subsidiary has confirmed that it will introduce it’s first ever SUV model based on the 2005 Yeti Concept (picture). Production of Skoda’s fifth model line will commence in 2009 with the Czech carmaker stating that it will be manufactured in its Kvasiny plant in the Czech Republic. It has been suggested that the Yeti will borrow some key modules from VW’s Golf-based Tiguan SUV (click here), mixing them with hardware sourced from other models within the VW Group. -Press release along with more pics of the Yeti concept after the jump

ŠKODA YETI TO BE MANUFACTURED IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

Production of Škoda’s fifth model line is due to start in 2009 and many new jobs will be created in the firm’s home country following this announcement. The Kvasiny facility, along with Škoda’s other plant in Vrchlabí, will be extensively modernised and expanded in order to meet the board’s aim of having three full-scale Czech factories by 2010.

Mladá Boleslav, the carmaker’s main plant and headquarters, will continue to produce the Fabia and Octavia. However, the Volkswagen plant in Bratislava will help to satisfy the high demand for vehicles by increasing its production of the Octavia.

Detlef Wittig, chairman of Škoda’s board of directors, said: “Thanks to the growing demand for the Octavia we are looking for suitable manufacturing capacities elsewhere that will enable us to quickly react to the enormous interest shown by customers in our model range. “