Czech brand's Fabia vRS2000 roadster concept. Czech brand's Fabia vRS2000 roadster concept.
The joke in the '80s was that an open-top Skoda was called a skip-bin, but there's nothing rubbish about the Czech brand's Fabia vRS2000 roadster concept.
Skoda's contribution to the VW Group's latest annual get-together for enthusiasts, the GTI-Treffen at Lake Worthersee in Austria, is essentially a decapitated version of the Eastern European company's rally car.
Unusually, the roadster retains all four doors of the donor car, though Skoda hasn't revealed whether any structural reinforcements have been made to compensate for the loss of the roof.
Skoda unveil the Fabia vRS2000 at the GTI-Treffen at Lake Worthersee in Austria. Skoda unveil the Fabia vRS2000 roadster concept at the GTI-Treffen at Lake Worthersee in Austria.
The bodywork features similar narrow bonnet scoops to the rally car, as well as the bulging wheel-arches and deep chin spoiler.
The wheels, however, feature larger white alloys wrapped in lower-profile rubber and the paintwork swaps the colours of principal rally sponsor Red Bull for the same bright green available on the Fabia vRS hot-hatch that is coming to Australia.
Skoda's designers have created a stylish open-top look by neatly integrating the acutely angled windscreen and side windows that taper neatly towards the rear.
There's also space for four people inside, with each seat supplied with motorsport-style five-point harnesses. The sports seats also feature piping in Skoda's corporate green, and carbon-fibre adds another motorsport touch to the cabin.
Power from the all-wheel-drive vRS2000's 2.0-litre four-cylinder is said to be in excess of 150kW.
Skoda is unfortunately not expected to put the roadster into production, describing the Worthersee show as "a welcome opportunity for us to show off our sports models and make sure that everyone knows that Škoda really has something to offer here".