A Skoda Octavia hits 200mph at Bonneville

Did you know that Skoda Octavia's can go faster than 320 kmh? Over a huge expanse of salt? Well this one can...

Škoda’s Octavia vRS has become the latest member to join Bonneville’s legendary 200 mph club.

The 500 bhp ‘salt spec’ challenger – built to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the iconic vRS performance flagship badge – managed to push its way through the 200 mph (322kmh) barrier agt the Bonneville Speed Week, four days ahead of schedule making fastest Škoda ever.

The car achieved an impressive 195.69 mph (314.92 kmh) on its first run of the day.  By the car’s sixth official outing it propelled itself to an impressive 202.15 mph.

Ahead of the event at the world famous salt flats a UK-based techinal team travelled from their base in Milton Keynes to Salt Lake City, Utah to see if their months of fiddling around with the car would get them past the magical 200mph mark.

In an environment where bhp is king and traction loss is your nemesis, the car underwent a rigorous dyno programme with the assistance of performance software and tuning outfit specialist REVO Technik.

Driven by journalist Richard Meaden from EVO magazine, the Octavia had demonstrated its potential on Sunday (14  August) as it powered its way to 191 mph securing all four speed licenses required before heading to the magical 200 mph barrier.

Having gone past the 200 mph barrier, the team is now focusing their efforts on closing the gap on the 2.0-litre production car record which stands at 216 mph.

Factory-fresh

The car they've been using is a factory-fresh production Octavia vRS, with some changes made to improve aerodynamics and performance. That includes lowering the ride height to run almost 80mm closer to the ground and a new sub-frame which houses a race prepared intercooler.

It retains its production-standard 2.0-litre four-cylinder TSI petrol engine, with the standard turbo replaced with a large unit from respected component firm Garrett.

Generating over 500 BHP, and producing 30+ PSI of boost pressure, the Bonneville Octavia vRS drinks high-octane race fuel (with water methanol mix) rather than unleaded petrol.

The unique racer has been built to stringent Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) safety regulations, which means a reinforced roll cage, parachute, fire extinguishers and window cage.

Nick Bradshaw