Rally – Skoda 1.6T in WRC

There are now reports surfacing out of the Czech Republic that home automaker Skoda will now develop a 1.6T engine and continue development on the Fabia S2000 chassis. While the details are a little thin at the moment, it would appear that the WRC will have at least the four manufacturers it was hoping for.

There is currently no news on whether this will be a supply to privateers or a factory effort, but the Czech team has shown itself very well in the IRC at the factory level. From what I could take out of the loose Google translation of the press release, it would appear as though Skoda is liking the direction that the WRC and the FiA are going with regards to emission control on race engines as well as the cost effective S2000 chassis. Another pleasing feature of the 1.6 litre engine is the fact that it is legal in all FiA sanctioned rallies, thus eliminating the need to run multiple platforms much like Ford has done with the Fiesta (Fiesta in America is NOT an S2000). Regardless of when the development of the engine is complete or when the first Fabia S2000T (made up the S2000T to differentiate) rolls onto stage, the news of manufacturers even supplying teams because of action taken by the FiA is absolutely unbelievable and a positive step forward. At the moment it would appear as though Ford, Citroen, Skoda, and MINI will be the cars competing. Still awaiting news from Prodrive and Mini on current development of Clubman crossover.

This is strictly early reporting on the situation and could change before all is said and done, but it looks as though this may be the final confirmation needed.

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