new superb????

[SJFISHER67]

I like the look of that! Very obviously a Passat thats been photo chopped about.

One of those in Black please.....

[OctaviaT81]

Now according to this article from Automotive News it will not be a rebadged Passat at all:

PRAGUE -- Skoda’s plans to boost the volume of its next-generation Superb hinge on the car’s success in one new market.

Skoda will not only launch sales of the large car in China, but will build it there as well.

“The Superb will target the growing numbers of upper-middle class [buyers] in all developing markets, especially China,” said Walt Madeira, an analyst with CSM Worldwide.

CSM forecasts that China will account for a third of the Superb’s global sales in 2009, or 10,000 out of 30,000 global total.

The Czech automaker will start Europe sales of the large-segment sedan in 2008, dealers say. Some dealers in western Europe are not expecting the car until early 2009.

Superb sales start in China in 2009. (The first-generation Superb was not sold there.)

Skoda will build Superbs for Europe at its plant in Kvasiny, Czech Republic, where it also makes the Roomster small minivan. In China, Superbs will be built at Skoda parent Volkswagen’s joint venture plant with Chinese automaker Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp.

New design approach

Spy photos show that the new-generation Superb will have a lengthened version of the Skoda brand’s new front-end design and a more prominent placement of the Skoda logo.

And the new Superb will not be a traditional three-box sedan. Instead, it will have a rear hatch-like liftgate that includes the rear window -- similar to the lower-medium Skoda Octavia -- although it looks more like a sedan.

Skoda confirmed the new Superb will be larger than the existing model, but would not discuss details.

The current model is about 100mm longer than the European-market VW Passat it was based on. Most of the extra length was used to boost rear-seat leg room, a desirable feature in developing markets.

Interior roominess is a core brand value as outlined by Detlef Wittig, who retired as chairman Saturday.

And lower-income but growing markets such as China are key to Skoda’s drive to reach 1 million annual sales by 2015.

Skoda wants to visually distinguish the new Superb from other cars in the VW brand portfolio. Skoda sources say Superb sales suffered because it looked too much like the first-generation Octavia.

“The new Superb will be completely a Skoda,” Wittig told Automotive News Europe.

Skoda’s strategy to expand the Superb’s modest market niche reflects the regional advantage the Skoda brand has outside western Europe, Madeira said.

Using VW’s parts bin

“It’s a spacious vehicle, similar to the VW Passat in both dimension and selling price,” he said. “Most image-conscious consumers will prefer a lower equipped Passat over a higher equipped Superb. The majority of price-conscious consumers -- which are rising in central and eastern Europe -- will prefer the opposite.”

Wittig’s view is similar.

“In the East, a Skoda is an aspirational car,” he said. “In the West, it is an affordable car.”

Skoda planners had to work hard to convince German parent VW to authorize the original Superb, even though it was based on the Passat and was to be assembled using lower-wage Czech workers.

The first-generation Superb got positive reviews from car-enthusiast magazines. It has generated modest but relatively steady sales.

Production peaked at 24,000 units in 2002 and has been about 20,000 units a year since then.

Heavy use of VW group’s global platforms and parts bins has made the Superb a moneymaker despite the modest volume, suppliers said.

Today’s Superb is mechanically similar to the long-wheelbase VW Passat sold in China.

Skoda’s Kvasiny factory even made roofs for the Chinese Passat. The Superb’s rear-door design is taken from the last-generation Passat and VW makes the doors in Germany and ships them to Kvasiny.

Said one major Skoda supplier who asked to remain anonymous: “Skoda may not have made as much money with the Superb as they wanted to, but they certainly did not lose.”

[OctaviaT81]

http://www.whatcar.com/news-special-...961&EL=3221871

[kprm77]

Originally Posted by OctaviaT81

http://www.whatcar.com/news-special-...961&EL=3221871

Interesting article.

[daz51]

yeah same article is on autocar website.

they mention a 300bhp v6 4x4 Vrs model i beleive ?????

[OctaviaT81]

About the new superb's headlight system:

One of the most important technical innovations is the bi-xenon headlight with the AFS function including retractable integrated headlights washer units with an automatic rain sensor and the “MAXI DOT” display. The abbreviation AFS (Adaptive Frontlight System) describes a system of adaptive front headlights. The system for controlling the front headlights makes use of the possibility of changing the geometry of the front headlights light beam and adapting the lighting in front of the vehicle to suit different driving conditions. The system works in following modes: “INTERCITY” (Headlight function in this mode is the closest to regular dipped lights. The right and the left headlights are in their basic positions. The mode is active at the following speeds: 0-15 km/h or 50-90 km/h.), “CITY” (The distribution of the vehicle’s light path is wider and shorter compared to the Intercity mode. When driving in a city, lighting footpaths and intersections are important rather than lighting objects at great distances. The left headlight is turned slightly to the left and tilted to avoid dazzling drivers in oncoming cars while lighting the entire road with adjoining footpaths. The mode is active at the following speeds: 15-50 km/h.), “HIGHWAY” (Long reach of the car’s lights and lighting the right and left lanes is important while driving on motorways. The left headlight is turned upwards and to the left and the right headlight is slightly lifted. The Intercity mode is switched over to the Highway mode gradually to ensure smooth and natural change of the light beam. The mode is active at following speeds: from 90 km/h; however, the Highway mode is the most effective at speeds higher than 110 km/h.) and “RAIN” (This function is designed for driving in poor visibility, for example in rain or heavy snowfall. The light path is wide and shorter than in the Intercity mode. The right headlight is dipped downwards and the left headlight is dipped to the left and downwards. This is to reduce the risk of dazzling drivers in oncoming vehicles with light reflected from a wet road. Activation of this mode depends on the vehicle’s travelling speed and is conditional on activating wipers for more than 2 minutes. For safety reasons, this mode is limited by speeds from 20 to 70 km/h to ensure sufficient reach of vehicle’s lights when travelling at higher speeds. The mode is deactivated automatically when the speed limit is exceeded or when wipers are inactive for more than 8 minutes).

This highly advanced system is supplemented by a rotating headlight function, cornering lights and the dynamic regulation of the headlight beam angle height. The combination of all of these functions has resulted in a well-designed system that adapts dynamically to the prevailing lighting conditions on the road, thus increasing driving safety - the driver can react more quickly to hindrances when these are better illuminated. AFS is paired exclusively with high-intensity discharge bi-xenon lamps which provide both the dipped and high beam functions. The driver can deactivate the system when required and use the standard dipped headlight and high beam function.

[Baker21]

Originally Posted by OctaviaT81

About the new superb's headlight system:

One of the most important technical innovations is the bi-xenon headlight with the AFS function including retractable integrated headlights washer units with an automatic rain sensor and the “MAXI DOT” display. The abbreviation AFS (Adaptive Frontlight System) describes a system of adaptive front headlights. The system for controlling the front headlights makes use of the possibility of changing the geometry of the front headlights light beam and adapting the lighting in front of the vehicle to suit different driving conditions. The system works in following modes: “INTERCITY” (Headlight function in this mode is the closest to regular dipped lights. The right and the left headlights are in their basic positions. The mode is active at the following speeds: 0-15 km/h or 50-90 km/h.), “CITY” (The distribution of the vehicle’s light path is wider and shorter compared to the Intercity mode. When driving in a city, lighting footpaths and intersections are important rather than lighting objects at great distances. The left headlight is turned slightly to the left and tilted to avoid dazzling drivers in oncoming cars while lighting the entire road with adjoining footpaths. The mode is active at the following speeds: 15-50 km/h.), “HIGHWAY” (Long reach of the car’s lights and lighting the right and left lanes is important while driving on motorways. The left headlight is turned upwards and to the left and the right headlight is slightly lifted. The Intercity mode is switched over to the Highway mode gradually to ensure smooth and natural change of the light beam. The mode is active at following speeds: from 90 km/h; however, the Highway mode is the most effective at speeds higher than 110 km/h.) and “RAIN” (This function is designed for driving in poor visibility, for example in rain or heavy snowfall. The light path is wide and shorter than in the Intercity mode. The right headlight is dipped downwards and the left headlight is dipped to the left and downwards. This is to reduce the risk of dazzling drivers in oncoming vehicles with light reflected from a wet road. Activation of this mode depends on the vehicle’s travelling speed and is conditional on activating wipers for more than 2 minutes. For safety reasons, this mode is limited by speeds from 20 to 70 km/h to ensure sufficient reach of vehicle’s lights when travelling at higher speeds. The mode is deactivated automatically when the speed limit is exceeded or when wipers are inactive for more than 8 minutes).

This highly advanced system is supplemented by a rotating headlight function, cornering lights and the dynamic regulation of the headlight beam angle height. The combination of all of these functions has resulted in a well-designed system that adapts dynamically to the prevailing lighting conditions on the road, thus increasing driving safety - the driver can react more quickly to hindrances when these are better illuminated. AFS is paired exclusively with high-intensity discharge bi-xenon lamps which provide both the dipped and high beam functions. The driver can deactivate the system when required and use the standard dipped headlight and high beam function.

Work with this technology on a daily basis......love it and so much more technology in the pipeline in the world of vehicle lighting!!!

[cathalb]

latest from Autoexpress

Skoda Superb | First Drives | Car Reviews | Auto Express

[ChrisBP]

Dont know if you have seen this:

http://aol.whatcar.com/news_article....2&type=autocar

Says that the new Superb will be bigger than the existing one. Bit worrying that the engineering boss Dr Ekhart Scholz says the new Superb is ‘bigger in all dimensions’ than the outgoing Audi A6-based Superb - you would think he would know its based on the Passat!

[chris_1d]

The New superb is apparently based on the current passat platform but stretched like the current superb is with the old passat.

[L-Y-K]

check out these pics from Auto.cz

Designérské cvièení: Nová Škoda Superb a její další evoluce | AUTO.CZ

heres the artical.

Designérské cvièení: Nová Škoda Superb a její další evoluce | AUTO.CZ

[Duffelcoat]

Serbian I can do - Czech I am afraid I can't!

[L-Y-K]

Originally Posted by Duffelcoat

Serbian I can do - Czech I am afraid I can't!

shame

[Faithless23]

Maybe some of these pictures could be interesting ?

http://media.autobild.de/bild/8/be9e...56f01e18_1.jpg

http://media.autobild.de/bild/7/ba52...c6a18c07_1.jpg

http://altijdeenmening.web-log.nl/ph...0fdc_sub10.jpg

Carscoop_SKSUP_11.jpg (image)

Carscoop_SKSUP_20.JPG (image)

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/147/3...2d8b2b.jpg?v=0

[Seloco]

Says that the new Superb will be bigger than the existing one. Bit worrying that the engineering boss Dr Ekhart Scholz says the new Superb is ‘bigger in all dimensions’ than the outgoing Audi A6-based Superb - you would think he would know its based on the Passat!

I think you'll find it was Hilton Holloway that got it wrong, rather than Dr Scholz; look at where the quote marks are in the original article.

[Faithless23]

whoops...sry for double posting the pictures

[DRON]

The New Škoda Superb introduces itself
from official Skoda's web site (?koda Auto - Homepage)

[Duffelcoat]

Originally Posted by Tiptronic

I was shocked how little we got for ours when we got rid of it. I really miss that car, but I wasn't prepared to lose more money on it.

So you bought a Citroen? - you aint seen nothing yet!

[Supurbia]

Originally Posted by Duffelcoat

So you bought a Citroen? - you aint seen nothing yet!

What he said

Mate of mine had a C5 BN for £18k, it was a lemon so Citroen bought it back 15 mths later for £6k

[Duffelcoat]

LOL - and they probably gave him that much coz they felt sorry for him!!!

[Tiptronic]

Originally Posted by Duffelcoat

So you bought a Citroen? - you aint seen nothing yet!

I know what you are saying, but at least the C4GP knows what it's about. Having suffered a Xsara Picasso for 3 years, this car is a completely different animal in every way

I would have loved to have kept the Superb, but couldn't really bear to lose any more on it than I already had. The Superb, as I have said before, suffers from an identity crisis. This is especially true of the marketing. What sector is it meant to compete in??

Unfortunately, Skoda's distinct lack of marketing for the Superb has left some of us footing a rather heavy depreciation bill. Let's hope they don't make the same mistake with the Superb2

[Duffelcoat]

I am not sure the superb suffers unduly from depreciation, the average car is worth 33% after 3 years, so 6k for 3 year old superb retailing around 18k isnt far from the truth with most diesels bettering that - apparently the worse depreciating cars are Saabs!! But I would have thought the average ford, vauxhall, MG/Rover (Titter), citroen etc are no better if not worse.

Fair doos on the identity thing, the current one is a bit non-descript, but then so is a passat and this is basically the same thing but a bit bigger and cheaper. My big problem with Skoda is how the dealers have turned into VW dealers in their attitude and general contempt for their own customers.

The reason I bought mine was because I wanted a VW with good customer service... Whoops - but hey I had an MG ZT once too, we all make mistakes and often more than one!

[Supurbia]

It wipes the floor with a Passat, it's a much better car than the VW, cheaper, better spec'd and a much better road presence.

That £6k you allowed yourself to take as a PX is a rip off, your old car will be on a forcourt for a shade under £10k next week assuming it hasn't done anymore that 50k.

[Duffelcoat]

Originally Posted by Supurbia

That £6k you allowed yourself to take as a PX is a rip off, your old car will be on a forcourt for a shade under £10k next week assuming it hasn't done anymore that 50k.

Not selling mine just yet waiting till I get into the 6 figure mileage at least, PXs are always a lottery, when I traded in my ZT 260 I had one trader offer me £6k for it (55 plate with 7k miles) eventually traded it in for the superb for £11.5k which was bad enough but I didnt pay a lot for it either.

[Kari]

Skoda Superb


Skoda Superb