Having managed to sell all the Skoda Octavia vRS units allocated for the Indian market, the company currently doesn’t list the performance-orientated car on its website. The dealers don’t accept any further bookings, either. Does that mean it’s the end of the Octavia vRS’s run in India? Well, not quite. The car is likely to make a return — and it may do so in a more powerful guise.
Skoda Auto India’s Director for Sales, Service, and Marketing, Zac Hollis has confirmed that the company is currently evaluating the feasibility of bringing the Skoda Octavia vRS 245 to India. He said, “Following the overwhelming demand of the Octavia RS 230, we are now evaluating the Octavia RS 245 for the Indian market.”
In markets like the UK, it’s now the only iteration of the Skoda Octavia vRS. It uses a 2-litre turbocharged petrol engine but produces more power 245 PS (242 bhp) and comes mated to a 6-speed manual or a new 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox. That’s 15 PS more than the India-spec Skoda Octavia vRS and also has a new gearbox — the India-spec/Octavia vRS 230 car had a 6-speed DSG; the manual didn’t come to India.
While the Octavia RS sat lower than the regular model, the 245-PS model has a track wider than that of the previous iteration. The 0-100 kph sprint is claimed to take only 6.6 seconds while the top speed is limited to 250 kph. The in-gear acceleration has also improved with the inclusion of the new 7-speed gearbox, which means it makes a stronger case for the Skoda Octavia vRS to be your runabout — in addition to it being your track-day tool.
Most features are likely to be market-dependent, but since the car is likely to be brought to India through the CBU route (as the previous one), we expect the same world-class features on the new Skoda Octavia RS 245 as the global model.
Let’s hope Skoda brings the Octavia RS 245 quickly.
