Shanghai LIVE: VW-owned Skoda’s Fabia R 5 race car

Volkswagen’s Czech Republic-based Škoda division has introduced a new race car called Fabia R 5. The R 5 was designed to replace the highly-successful Fabia Super 2000 that has been tearing up race tracks all over the globe for the past couple of years.
The hatchback is a Fabia in name only. Visually, it benefits from a long list of aerodynamic add-ons including a lip spoiler that is seemingly riveted to the front bumper, fender flares, side skirts and a sizable spoiler out back. A large air dam integrated into the front bumper and twin vents cut into the hood have been added to help cool the engine.

Škoda promises the Fabia R 5 gets a full roll cage, a pair of bucket seats and a race-specific instrumentation. The cockpit has been totally stripped in order to shed as much weight as possible, but Škoda points out that FIA regulations dictate the car must tip the scale at over 2,711 pounds.

Following the sanctioning body’s latest round of regulations, the Fabia R 5 is powered by a downsized turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine that spins all four wheels via a five-speed sequential gearbox. Škoda has not revealed how much power the turbo four pumps out.

The Škoda Fabia R 5 has been homologated by the FIA, meaning that it is ready to go racing. Interested teams and privateers will be able to purchased the Czech company’s newest race car before the end of the year.

Live images by Ronan Glon.