Skoda RS: Kodiaq confirmed, Citigo no-go

There's finally a confirmation Skoda is cooking up a sporty RS version of its first-ever seven-seat model, the Kodiaq. The information was revealed by the brand's R&D chief Christian Strube to Evo magazine during the launch event of the facelifted Octavia in Vienna, Austria.

Strube told our source the SUV is the next in line to get a high-performance variant and, interestingly, he confirmed it will be powered by a diesel engine, as suggested by previous reports. The motor in question is the 2.0-liter biturbo BiTDI, which is offered for the Volkswagen Passat and Tiguan. It's good for 240 horsepower (177 kilowatts) and a massive torque of 369 pound-feet (500 Newton meters) from only 1,750 rpm. In the Tiguan, it provides a 0-62 miles per hour (0-100 kilometers per hour) acceleration in 6.5 seconds. Given that, the Kodiaq RS with the same unit could become Skoda's fastest accelerating model in the current lineup.

No exact launch date was confirmed, but before the full-blown RS model, Skoda will introduce a warm Kodiaq SportLine trim which is due to arrive at this year's Geneva Motor Show in March. Most likely, it will offer a slightly lowered suspension and aerodynamic improvements in the same vein as Volkswagen's Tiguan R-Line. In 2019, the model's range will be joined by a plug-in hybrid version.

While Strube confirmed the Kodiaq vRS, he basically denied the possibility for sporty Fabia and Citigo vehicles. He explained that a business case doesn't currently exist for such cars and they are highly unlikely. The Czech brand will focus on large hot models, but a Superb vRS is currently on hold. While Strube is keen to see Skoda introducing more RS models, he admitted soon volume brands may not be able to keep several sports cars on sale at the same time because of emissions restrictions.