New Skoda Octavia RS 245 Packs A Stronger Punch Into Sleeper Package

We have to admit a certain admiration for the Skoda Octavia RS. As much as we dig its hatchback twins (the Volkswagen Golf GTI and Seat Leon Cupra), the Octavia is a sleeper that could easily be mistaken for a taxi cab in most countries where it's sold.

The only thing that would make it better would be more power. Fortunately Skoda keeps answering those prayers with increasingly potent RS versions, of which the one you see here is the latest.

In its previous iteration, Skoda initially offered the Octavia RS (or vRS in the UK) with 220 metric horsepower. It then rolled out the RS 230 version with an extra ten horses.

That engine then morphed into the "standard" RS following the model's recent facelift. However now, the Czech automaker is offering an even more powerful version – the most powerful it ever has, in fact.

What we have on our hands here is the new Skoda Octavia RS 245, with a 2.0-liter turbo four churning out – you guessed it – 245 metric horses, or 241 by American standards. That's the same as the recently revised Golf GTI, making it more potent than the closely related Jetta GLI offered Stateside with 210 hp.

With a trick VAQ differential to help channel all that muscle through the front wheels and onto the tarmac, the Octavia RS 245 will rocket to 62 mph (100 km/h) in as little as 6.6 seconds. As before, buyers will be able to choose between a six-speed manual or a new seven-speed DSG, and between "hatchback" sedan and Combi wagon bodystyles.