After dominating the 1600cc World Championship in the late 90s Skoda focussed on the top class of rallying, WRC. For the 2000 season Skoda adopted the newly launched Octavia to compete in the World Rally Championship. The Octavia was further developed throughout the season. The Octavia is powered by the 5 valve turbo engine also found in many Audi, Skoda, Seat and Volkswagen performance models but enlarged to 2 litres. The 2001 driver line up consisted of two very experienced drivers, the German Armin Schwarz and the Belgian Bruno Thiry. The Octavia has yet to have the succes Skoda had in the 1600cc class, but in the 2001 season they managed to score a shared fifth in the constructor's world championship.
Skoda’s success in motorsport over the past 100 years can now be seen both in the Octavia World Rally Car and its fastes road car ever, the Octavia RS. Just as Skoda is taking on the competition in the World Rally Championship, the Octavia RS will challenge its competitors in the sports saloon segment.
The styling of the Octavia RS matches its performance, both inside and out. The suspension has been lowered and stiffened to give the Octavia RS a sporty appearance and feel, with a very low drag co-efficient (Cw) of 0.29. A massive front bumper with a large air intake, sports alloy wheels with unique, green painted brake callipers, a rear spoiler, wide stainless steel tailpipe and unique RS badging complete the dynamic exterior. Inside, there are sports seats in special RS leather-trimmed upholstery, metal pedal covers, leather trim on the hand brake and gear lever, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel.
The Octavia RS interior is as sporty as its exterior. Sports seats with metallic mesh panels and leather trim add to the dynamic interior, as do the three-spoke sport steering wheel, instrument panel trim and metal covers on the pedals.
