Škoda Fabia Combi R5 Concept car promises to pack 'em in at the 34th Worthersee GTi Gathering.

• Fabia Combi R5 to make debut at mid-May GTI meeting
• ŠKODA reinterprets its new rally car as an estate
• Follows ŠKODA Fabia R5’s spectacular opening in Czech Rally Championships

The new ŠKODA Fabia R5 caused a sensation at its first ever race, with the ŠKODA team bringing home a clear victory from the new model’s world premiere in the Šumava Klatovy Rally. Now the high-tech racer will be presented as an estate show car at the 34th GTI meeting at Wörthersee (13 to 16 May 2015). 

ŠKODA will also be presenting the ŠKODA Fabia R5 alongside three other sports cars.

PREVIOUS SKODA WORTHERSEE CONCEPTS

As many as 200,000 tuning and motorsport enthusiasts will be making the pilgrimage to Wörthersee in Austria between 13 and 16 May to indulge in their passion for fast cars. This will be ŠKODA’s sixth appearance at the GTI meeting, where the brand will be presenting five sporty models.

ŠKODA’s designers have reinterpreted the Fabia R5 as an estate model to create the ŠKODA Fabia R5 Combi show car. The green, white and black ŠKODA Fabia R5 Combi will be driving onto the stage on 18-inch alloys. At the front, a powerful bumper and wide air intakes signify the car’s rallying ambitions. 

The wide contoured grille is finished in black, as are the door mirror covers. Flared mudguards and powerful doorsills accentuate the model’s racy appearance.

The rear sports a huge spoiler, as well as a giant rear bumper, and a wide central exhaust pipe. Beneath the surface, the Fabia R5 features an ultra-modern 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine, all-wheel-drive, sequential five-speed transmission and McPherson struts.

ŠKODA will also be showing the ‘original’ ŠKODA Fabia R5 at Wörthersee. ŠKODA’s brand new racing car celebrated its dazzling world premiere at the end of April with a triumphant victory at the opening of this year's Czech Rally Championship. Driven by the Asia-Pacific Champion Jan Kopecky (CZ), the car proved to be both fast and reliable. 

The Fabia R5 is based on ŠKODA’s new production Fabia, and is the successor to the Fabia Super 2000, which went down as the most successful rally car in ŠKODA’s history.

Skoda Apprentices produce another stunning one off for the Worthersee GTi Meeting.

• 23 ŠKODA trainees build pickup based on the ŠKODA Fabia
• Vehicle project in close cooperation with the ŠKODA Design department
  and ŠKODA Production
• Premiere at the 34th GTI Meeting at Wörthersee in mid-May

The new dream car of 23 trainees from the ŠKODA AUTO Vocational School: the ŠKODA FUNstar pickup. The fun vehicle concept, based on the new ŠKODA Fabia, is the result of ŠKODA’s ‘trainee car’ project, which was run for the first time last year. 

The ŠKODA FUNstar will be making its public debut at the 34th GTI Meeting at Wörthersee from 13 to 16 May 2015.

The two young women and 21 young men have been tinkering on their own vehicle project since November 2014.  Developing ideas and discussing possible solutions, drawing, designing and they have built a very special, unique car. Inventiveness and flexibility are just as important as pragmatism and implementation skills.

The trainees have been supported in their work by ŠKODA chief designer Jozef Kabaň and ŠKODA AUTO Production Director Michael Oeljeklaus. The new ‘Trainee Car’ is almost ready; the premiere takes place at the legendary GTI Meeting at Wörthersee in Austria in mid-May.

This is the second year in a row that the Czech manufacturer has given selected trainees the opportunity to create their dream car. The company’s goal with this programme is to promote and strengthen the vocational students’ creativity and expertise. 

“After the excellent results of the ŠKODA Trainee Car premiere last year, it was clear that we would continue the project,” said ŠKODA HR Director Bohdan Wojnar. 

“We are once again delighted with our students’ creative ideas and their goal-oriented implementation. We would like to thank everyone who has supported the project, especially the teachers at the ŠKODA AUTO Vocational School. The ŠKODA FUNstar is a great concept car that is going to surprise and inspire visitors at the GTI Meeting.”

The ŠKODA FUNstar is a funky pickup based on the new ŠKODA Fabia – cheeky, fresh and surprising. This is a bright, sharp pickup with a real fun factor, not only in name. The ŠKODA FUNstar stands out with its metallic colours steel-grey and moon-white. 

The sills, grille surround and the rear spoiler form a striking contrast in reflex-green. One special feature is the LED lights mounted below the sidebars. The dual-lens headlights also feature LED technology, with green LED light strips serving as daytime running lights. LEDs are also used in the rear lights.

“Through this project, our apprentices have really shown what they are capable of,” said ŠKODA Production Board member Michael Oeljeklaus whose department has taken the junior employees under their wing in production technology. “The project has been great fun. The students have really got on board with the task, showing great zeal and developing their expertise.”

The ŠKODA FUNstar drives up on 18-inch ‘Gemini’ alloys from the Octavia RS. The engine is a 1.2 TSI petrol with 90 kW. The transmission features a modern seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. 

The sporty look continues in the interior. Individual elements are also finished in steel-grey and moon-white. It goes without saying that the students used one of the best sports steering wheels ŠKODA has to offer, and the 1400-Watt sound system offers a fantastic music experience. 

The ‘Trainee Car’ project once again demonstrates the high quality of ŠKODA’s vocational training, and the importance of combining theoretical education with practical experience. The ŠKODA Vocational School offers young adults three- or four-year training programmes in technical subjects. 

The students graduate with an apprenticeship diploma or NVQ level 3 respectively. There are currently 13 training courses, on which 880 full-time trainees are enrolled. Some 12.5 per cent of these apprentices are young women. In addition, 65 current employees are supplementing their qualifications at a post-graduate level. 

The ŠKODA Vocational School in Mladá Boleslav was established in 1927. Since then, almost 22,000 students have completed their training there.

Training young people is a key part of the Czech car manufacturer’s social responsibility. The training is free; moreover, students are paid for their work during their apprentices. After successfully completing the training, ŠKODA offers all graduates a permanent job.