Fabia RS Rally2 in legendary colours

As part of this year's Rally Bohemia, Škoda presented its Fabia RS Rally2 competition special in a special livery. Among other things, the body paint is made up of a green-red letter V, which refers to the former colours of the successful Škoda Favorit racing specials.

The Fabia RS Rally2, in the stunning colours of the former Favorits, is a celebration of the historic achievements of Škoda rally cars. This year marks 35 years since the brand new Škoda Favorit received homologation for world competitions, and it has also been 30 years since the Favorit's greatest ever rally triumph.

It was in 1994 that Škoda, thanks to this model, won the FIA World Rally Championship in the Formula 2 category, which was open to cars with one-axle drive and an engine capacity of up to two litres. Favorit was able to achieve these successes thanks to an eight-valve four-cylinder OHV engine with a capacity of 1.3 litres and an output of about 105 hp. Škoda used these winning colours of the former Favorit on its state-of-the-art Fabia RS Rally2 racing special livery.

In addition, the current Fabia RS Rally2 is a direct successor to the Favorit's racing tradition. It has been making a name for itself in world rallies since the very beginning of its deployment; in 1991–1994, for example, the Sibera-Gross crew won four times in a row in their class in the demanding Monte-Carlo Rally.

In 1995, the Škoda Favorit was replaced by the new Škoda Felicia Kit Car, which not only had a further modified, proven thirteen-hundred-litre engine under the bonnet, but also an improved 1.5-litre and later 1.6-litre engine. With this car, for example, the famous Stig Blomqvist achieved an absolute third place in the standings of the famous British RAC Rally in 1996. The following year, Škoda began to deploy the larger Octavia Kit Car model in competitions.

The return to more compact rally cars did not happen until the Fabia WRC, which received homologation in 2003. After the Octavia WRC, it was the second model in the highest category of rally cars, but after two years Škoda cancelled its participation in the WRC category. In 2009, Škoda returned to competitions with the new Fabia S2000, which was based on the second generation of this small model of the Mladá Boleslav-based carmaker. The Fabia S2000 quickly built on the previous successes, winning rallies in 2009 and a “double” in the IRC championship in 2010, with Juho Hänninen topping the standings and Jan Kopecký finishing second.

The triumphs continued even after that. In 2011, Juho Hänninen became World Champion in the SWRC category, in which the Fabia S2000 competed. Between 2009 and 2014, the Fabia S2000 drivers won a total of 50 national and international titles. Then came the era of the R5, which later turned into the Fabia Rally2. It was a car built on the foundations of the third generation of the brand's traditional model and one of the most successful racing specials ever. Drivers won the WRC2 Championship titles in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 with it, followed by Rally2 evo in 2021 and 2022.

Then the new Fabia RS Rally2, built on the foundations of the fourth generation of the Mladá Boleslav hatchback, began to replace this special in competitions. Andreas Mikkelsen won the WRC2 title with this model last year and this year the crews have championship ambitions with this model as well.