Skoda to Challenge the Big Boys at Bonneville Speed Week with 600HP Octavia RS

With the help of the Volkswagen Group, Skoda has turned out to be quite an important player in the automotive industry. The Czech automaker delivered more than 760,000 cars last year and aims to double its annual sales to 1.5 million by 2018. But it’s not only about sales as Skoda’s German parent company is also planning to further boost the Czech brand’s image.
In celebration of the 10 year anniversary of the vRS (in the UK, simply RS for the rest of Europe) performance badge, Skoda will compete in the famous Bonneville Speed Week in August (13-20) with a specially modified Octavia vRS saloon. Skoda’s goal is to break the magic 200mph (320+ km/h) barrier for the first time in the company’s history.

Was ist das? Strange Volkswagen-Skoda Hybrid Spied in Munich

Roman Jagatić is the latest addition to our ever-growing list of readers-turned-into spy photographers. Roman stumbled upon this strange looking Volkswagen-Skoda hybrid prototype parked at a gas station in Munich, Germany. The test car appears to combine a modified body of a Skoda Octavia with a Volkswagen front end.
While we do not have a definite answer to what it may be, possible scenarios include a test car for a new Skoda Octavia and a prototype for a Volkswagen-badged model for select markets outside Europe.

Study finds the Most Vandalised Car in Britain is the Lexus IS

Bad news for Lexus IS owners across the pond: if you happen to own one of the Japanese brand’s entry-level sedans, you’re in possession of the most vandalised car in the UK. Runners up are BMW’s Z4 sports coupe and MINI’s entry-level One model. It’s all been revealed as part of SwiftCover.com’s Vehicle Vandalism Index (VVI), whereby the UK-based insurer analysed some 2,000 motor insurance claims. SwiftCover claims director Robin Reames explains:
“Our analysis shows that luxury cars are more likely to be targeted by vandals, however, it's interesting to see the MINI One in the top three. The majority of vehicles in the top ten are what we call 'executive cars', likely to be driven by high earners who see their car as a status symbol, with just one 4x4 making up the top ten.”