Skoda confirmed at the Peking Auto Show today that the production version of the MissionL concept car will be called the Rapid and that an estate version will also be built, although it might not be a "full fat" classic estate and more an Audi Sportback style.

Now please make a coupe version to do justice to the name!

Edited 22 April, 201213 yr by OctaviaT81

A FAST coupe with the bigger bhp engines both diesel & petrol

So my thoughts confirmed why the rapid appeared on our diagnostic machine at the last update then.

Here's the press release:

Beijing/Mladá Boleslav, April 23^rd, 2012 – The new ŠKODA compact saloon will be called the Rapid, the brand announced today at AUTO CHINA 2012 in Beijing. The car will make its debut in Europe before the year is out. A Chinese version of the Rapid will be built and sold in China from 2013. The close to series concept car MissionL China, which ŠKODA is displaying in Beijing, provides a specific preview of the new Chinese model.

“As part of its growth strategy, ŠKODA has initiated the largest model offensive in its corporate history and will bring a new vehicle to market every six months on average in the years ahead,” Škoda CEO Winfried Vahland said at the brand’s press conference in Beijing. “The Rapid is our next new model at the starting gate. It has a central importance for our growth and will provide us with a strong tailwind on international markets,” said Winfried Vahland.

With the Rapid ŠKODA offers an attractive and family-oriented model in a world's growing segment between the Fabia and the Octavia. The MissionL design study provides a specific preview of the car’s design and concept. For the design of the interior ŠKODA did an extensive research in China and asked customers about their individual wishes to build for them a car they exactly want. MissionL China and the future compact sedan are the ideal combination of ŠKODA genes and Chinese demand.

ŠKODA showed the MissionL’s European variant at IAA 2011 in Frankfurt and is displaying a version modified for Chinese market in Beijing.

“MissionL China is true ŠKODA. It perfectly embodies the brand’s values: fresh design, functionality, roominess, ingenuity, and price to value ratio typical for our cars,” Vahland added. “This car makes a clear statement: precise and emotional. Lots of room for the driver, passengers and luggage. An ideal car for families. Simply clever.”

?

I'm wondering whether the Rapid will be made available in a 4 wheel drive model, such as a Scout.

Nice looking motor - could be sensational as a rally car!