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Skoda has two concept cars planned for the upcoming Worthersee celebration of all things Volkswagen Group. The first, built by its apprentices, is the open-topped CitiJet, based on the Citigo and the second is this, the Skoda Yeti Extreme.
Under the matt-grey paint and fluorescent yellow highlights lives a car that would not be out of place on the Dakar. Designed to demonstrate the 'versatile potential of its popular compact SUV' the Yeti Extreme is powered by a 150hp 1.8-litre TSI petrol engine. With a top speed of 118mph and 0-62mph time of nine seconds it is not exactly what you would call quick (certainly not when compared to the 503hp Volkswagen GTI Roadster Vision Gran Turismo), but the Extreme does feature the brake system from the Octavia RS and a height-adjustable chassis for scaling sand dunes - do they have sand dunes at Worthersee?
Flared wheelarches house 17-inch alloy wheels that are shod in knobbly off-road tyres and because someone took a saw to the exhaust silencers the dual pipes out back are said to emit a much throatier sound than one would expect from a Yeti.
Inside, the standard perches have been replaced with four Recaro bucket seats and the luminous yellow highlights have also spread. A spare wheel sits in the boot - no foam and compressor for the Extreme - and it is joined by a set of recovery tracks that provide extra grip should the Yeti get caught out off-road. Though we do have to question their effectiveness considering the interior fit-out is also completed with a sand shovel, belt cutter, fire extinguisher and thermos flask.
Anything else?
Werner Eichhorn, Skoda Board Member for Sales and Marketing commented: "Skoda Yeti Xtreme - as a dynamic and powerful compact SUV concept - demonstrates the brand's strong expertise in four-wheel drive technology, as well as our know-how when it comes to rally sports", which is nice. Now if you could kindly prove it Werner by building a version that will do battle with the MINI ALL4 Racing and Peugeot 2008 DKR on the actual Dakar rather than just a lakeside in Austria...
Paul Healy - 23 May 2014