To underline the Skoda Kylaq’s image of being a fun-to-drive and performance-oriented alternative to the bevy of compact SUVs, the Czech company is planning to put together a racing series in India. Speaking to Autocar india on the sidelines of the Octavia RS drive in Croatia, Skoda Auto India brand director Petr Janeba, said, "We want the series to be competitive but still very reliable and accessible from costs, so that young drivers can train and get better."
Skoda Kylaq Cup race car details
The Kylaq is powered by the VW Group’s 1.0-litre TSI engine that makes 115hp and 178Nm, and is based on the MQB A0 IN platform. However, the plans that are being drawn up are to have a custom-built Kylaq Cup race car using the MQB 37 platform, and powered by the VW Group's 2.0 TSI engine, used on the Skoda Octavia, Superb, Kodiaq and Volkswagen Tiguan. Under the hood of the latest Octavia RS, this unit puts out 265hp, but the Kylaq Cup race car would see power bumped a little north of 300hp and 450Nm.
Naturally, the Kylaq Cup racer would feature other competition hardware such as a roll cage, larger brakes, a race suspension and racing slicks.
Skoda India in motorsport
Skoda isn’t new to motorsports in India as its rally-prepped Fabia R5 has been available to privateers who want to participate in rallies. However, this would be the first time the brand directly organises a motorsport event in India – joining the likes of Maruti Suzuki and Volkswagen – and enters the track-racing arena.
Speaking of sister brand Volkswagen, it has been directly involved in motorsports in India since 2010. It held the Polo Cup that year, then held the Vento Cup in 2015, the Ameo Cup in 2017, and brought back the Polo Cup in 2020. However, Volkswagen Motorsport India operations were handed over to Rayo Racing in 2022, spelling the end of the German brand’s one-make racing series.
Incidentally, Skoda is celebrating 125 years of its motorsport history, and Janeba says this is a nice time, along with the brand's 25th anniversary in India, to introduce the Kylaq race car and the racing series. The plans for the Kylaq Cup are in the nascent stages, and though no date has been set, Janeba said, "I don't want to over promise that everything gets ready this year, but we would still strive to get some prototype cars done."
Unnatee Gidithuri
Suraj Viswanathan
