What's the news?

For the annual GTI Meeting at Wörthersee in Reifnitz, Austria, Skoda has prepared the Rapid Sport Concept. As the name suggests, it is a sporty version of the Rapid hatchback, which it hopes will attract the attention of the 200,000 or so fans of hot hatchbacks attending the event.

Exterior

The body is finished in Steel Grey and Corrida Red metallic colours with co-ordinated 19-inch alloy wheels. Extended arches are necessary to accommodate the new rims with extended sills and redesigned bumpers to integrate the new wings with the rest of the body. At the front the bumper houses a new air intake; twin tail pipes are integrated with the rear bumper and the tail lights show a contrasting colour.

Interior

We don't have any preview photos of the inside of the car but we're told that the Rapid Sport comes with a sports steering wheel, Recaro seats and illuminated door sills. No doubt the 550-litre boot space is intact.

Mechanicals

Skoda isn't even hinting at what could be under the bonnet. The Wörthersee event has seen some radical concepts, such as the mid-engined W12 Golf. The Rapid Sport is likely to be more down-to earth, with a conventional drivetrain. As the Rapid uses the same platform as the Volkswagen Polo the 180hp engine from the Polo GTI is a possibility.

Anything else?

Some sources are suggesting that the Sport concept points towards an eventual vRS version of the Rapid, though we don't believe that.

John Lambert - 8 May 2013