Good news for all the Skoda rally car lovers as the Czech autogiant has received green signal for its newly designed Fabia R5 from the highest motorsport authority, the International Automobile Federation (FIA). The upcoming Fabia R5 is ready to take Skoda’s 114 years motorsport victory to new heights. Built on the new production version of the Fabia, the R5 is the inheritor of the Fabia Super 2000, which is known as the most triumphant rally car in the history of Skoda Motorsport. It is to be noted that Skoda Motors has invested around 15 months to develop this ultra modern piece of technology.
Talking about more details of the new Fabia R5, the upcoming Skoda rally car carries high technology in its vein. Designed in compliance with the FIA regulations, the car is housed with a 1.6-litre turbo engine. The said engine comes as a considerable change from its 2.0-litre tuned version found in Skoda Fabia Super 2000. In addition to this, the new Fabia R is a four wheel drive car coming with a McPherson struts for suspension and 5-speed sequential transmission to transmit power to the wheels. Looking at the prescribed regulations, it is presumed that the car weighs 1230 kg.
Delighted to get the green light from FIA, Mr. Frank Welsh, Skoda board of members for Development said that it’s really a matter of pleasure that Fabia R5 has received the go-ahead sign from FIA. He also added that the third generation Fabia is the most emotional Skoda vehicle ever that incorporates some of the genes from earlier Skoda rally cars. And with the production model forming base for new Fabia R5, the new generation Fabia has got an awfully good start, he supplemented the facts.
It is also said that the homologation practice is not an easy task and it demands assistance from FIA. In the past few months, the Fabia R5 has to undergo a long deep approval process but end is well with the green signal from FIA.
Talking more about the FIA approval, Mr. Michal Hrabánek, Skoda Motorsport Director commented that its delightful moment to get the FIA sanction under Skoda’s band. The development of this Fabia R5 rally car has been a tiresome and challenging task for the entire Skoda Motorsport team. And for those intense efforts, he is personally thankful to them, added Hrabánek. Speaking about the further operations, Mr. Michal stated that after this successful run, Skoda can now start the next phase of the Fabia R5 project.
Let’s take some close sights into the homologation process; the new rally car Fabia R5 underwent a tough test of running 10,000 kilometres on diverse terrains and conditions. The car completed its journey traversing through a long list of cities including Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, France, Spain, Austria, Finland and Italy. Moreover, neither the frosty cold nor the intense sunshine could stop the Fabia R5 from successfully completing its test.
Coming to the customer demand cues, the teams have been waiting for the car since a long time as they are sure to witness the success again that had been collected by Skoda Fabia 2000 in last 6 years. Since its inception in 2009, the Fabia 2000 has been the most victorious Skoda rally car in motorsport world. In 2014 rally season, Skoda took home three titles that include the Drivers’ and Manufacturer championships in the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) and FIA European Rally Championship.
Though, there is no announcement regarding India bound Fabia R5 but we can only pray for its early arrival in the country.