Skoda Goes Mad with the Enyaq RS Race

Normally, I don’t get overly excited by an electric car, especially when talking about the run-of-the-mill electric SUVs that flood our streets these days. The lack of sounds, vibrations, the smell of gasoline being burnt… that sort of thing. But when a manufacturer takes one to the tracks or modifies it with that intent, things start to get interesting for me. The performance an EV can put down on the tarmac is nothing to complain about, but it’s more about the emotion that’s missing. Nevertheless, upon seeing Skoda’s latest super-EV-SUV (is that a thing?) I was quite intrigued from the get-go! Usually not a manufacturer to go mad about, Skoda has shockingly decided to turn its Enyaq into a race-prepped track machine!

Skoda and Motorsports

For those not ‘in the know’ about what Skoda is and does, it’s a Czech car manufacturer that’s part of the Volkswagen-Audi Group. The brand was established in 1925 as the successor to Lauring & Klement, which in turn was founded as a bicycle, motorcycle and car manufacturer in 1895. Nowadays, it’s mostly known for sensible, well-equipped cars that benefit from being part of the VAG conglomerate. The motorsport side of things is perhaps a bit less known to people, but the brand has been active in racing since 1901 (not as Skoda, obviously) and was a keen participant in various levels of European and World Rally Championships for decades.

Throughout the years, many rally-prepped iterations of Skoda’s road cars would be entered into rallying. In more recent times, the Skoda Octavia WRC gained notable fame, which debuted in 1999. The car’s best result was a third place in the 2001 Safari Rally. It was succeeded by the Fabia WRC, which had a much shorter wheelbase and was a lot easier to navigate through twisty rally stages. This was a move many teams made in the early 2000s, by the way, as technology and performance developed at a rapid pace in WRC. With the Fabia WRC, Skoda achieved moderate success with the factory team until it withdrew from rallying in 2006. For some years after that, semi-privateer teams continued to race the Fabia WRC, but a stage or title win in the top-tier category was never within reach.

In the lower-tier WRC2 class, however (the Formula 2 of rallying, if you will), Skoda’s efforts had a different result. In 2009, Skoda started in WRC2 with the Fabia S2000, a Super 2000 spec version of its compact hatchback. In its first year, the car won three rallies, and a year later, it would clinch both the driver’s and constructor’s championships. Subsequently, it also won titles in WRC2 in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 and was also very successful in other championships.

The enyaq rs race

So what to make of this Enyaq RS Race that Skoda has unexpectedly built? Well, according to the manufacturer, it’s a test-bed for various technologies and materials, but also a way of showing Skoda is not just about building a mundane commuter car. The Enyaq iV is one of the brand’s latest EVs that comes in two different configurations. In 2020, it was launched as a full-fledged electric SUV, and a coupé-SUV bodystyle was introduced two years later. Not exactly the most exciting cars on the road, as it’s along the lines pretty much every car manufacturer is building right now.

Skoda also makes RS models of both the Enyaq and Enyaq Coupe which offer enhanced performance and sportier looks. And this is where the story of the Enyaq RS Race begins! Packed with a 340bhp electric drivetrain, the standard Enyaq Coupé on which this RS Race model is based, accelerates from a standstill to 100kph in 5.5 seconds yet only has a top speed of 180kph. Considering its kerb weight of well over two metric tons, that is quite impressive, and the reason why electric cars are so in demand these days (plus the massive push from governments all across Europe).

The RS Race version drops in excess of 300 kilos of that heft, which makes it a lot more agile and faster in the process. That’s mainly due to the use of lightweight polycarbonate for its body and gutting the inside of its luxury interior in favour of a more track-suited cockpit. As a direct result, the sprint from zero to 100kph now takes less than five seconds, which is staggering for what’s essentially a large, and still quite heavy SUV, despite its weight loss programme. But it’s not all about performance, as it’s also about looks!

Skoda has fitted the Enyaq RS Race with an ultra-aggressive kit of aerodynamic components, including a massive rear wing, a monstrous front splitter and various other inlets, vents and winglets. Its stopping power is also beefed up thanks to carbon-ceramic brakes and a specially developed adaptable chassis, sharper steering rack and hydraulic handbrake should improve its handling and sliding capabilities! On the inside, a chrome-molybdenum steel roll cage with a pair of racing seats (in the front only) with a racing harness, a fire-extinguisher system and, oddly, a revised infotainment and sound system that sends artificially enhanced driving/racing/rallying sounds into the cabin. No word is mentioned if we will ever see more of this than just a one-off showstopper of an EV-SUV, but it would be interesting to see a field of these machines battle it out on a rallycross stage of some sort!

For more information, please visit Skoda-Motorsport.com.

Editorial Note: All information and images used for this article are sourced from and used with permission of Skoda Motorsport unless stated otherwise.