Skoda Kodiaq RS claims fastest 7-seat SUV crown at the Nurburgring

Skoda sets a fast lap at the Nordschleife with the upcoming Kodiaq RS, the fastest seven-seater SUV in the world.

Skoda is set to reveal a performance version of the current flagship SUV, the Kodiaq RS in October this year. However, as the SUV is currently undergoing its final stage of testing, Skoda thought it would be a good idea to see what it could do on a racetrack. So they zeroed in on the Nurburgring of course as the venue. But they needed a driver who could do justice to it, someone who knows the 20.832-km-long Nordschleife circuit like the back of her hand.

They handed the keys over to Sabine Schmitz, a driver who estimates that she has driven over 30,000 laps of the circuit over the years as a racing driver and as a ‘Taxi Driver’ at the Ring. With Schmitz behind the wheel, the Skoda Kodiaq RS set a time of 9:29.84 minutes, making it the fastest ever seven-seat SUV to ever set a time at the famed race track.

Details about the Kodiaq RS are sparse as of now. However, it has been confirmed that it will be powered by a new 2.0-litre BiTDI engine that develops 235bhp reserved especially for the ‘RS’ SUV. While torque figures are yet to be revealed, we expect that Skoda has equipped it with a twin-clutch DSG auto-box, however, Skoda is tight-lipped on that front as of now. What they have revealed apart from the power figure, is that it will get an SCR catalytic converter to control emissions, and the speakers will play a synthesized version of the exhaust note as you drive along. Other than that, the Kodiaq’s sporty sister will get Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC), Driving Mode Select, a progressive steering rack and all-wheel-drive.

The car will debut in the flesh later this year at the Paris Motor Show scheduled for October which is when further details about the Skoda Kodiaq RS will be revealed. Until then, have a look at the Kodiaq RS being thrown around the ring by Sabine Schmitz in the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t-ESjQ5Uo4