For maximum objectivity, road tests should be conducted from the driver's seat. Given that Skoda's Fabia S2000 rally car is a little different, it takes someone better than an enthusiastic hack to do it justice.
Just in case you're still in doubt, it's not me. Or, to be more accurate, it wasn't me when faced with a twisting, tree-lined Scottish gravel forest road. Leaving my journalistic ego to one side, I let a bloke called Juho Hänninen drive instead.
It was probably for the best. He had driven the same car to victory in the Scottish Rally the day before, having driven flat out for two and a bit days in mid-October on some of the best rally stages in the country. Oh, and prior to that he had secured the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC).
So what makes this Fabia special? It might have something to do with its 270bhp, 2.0-litre engine, a six-speed sequential gearbox and a four-wheel drive system designed for the rigours of competition. And then there are the competition seats, beefy roll-cage, fully adjustable suspension and massive brake discs.
With me installed and the belts tightened, the IRC champ fires up the Fabia after a cheery greeting. After a brief sequence of mechanical whirrs and clicks, the Fabia shudders and rattles before the engine settles down to an urgent chug-chug-chug-chug; the car's highly tuned motor clearly eager to get on with the act of scaring passengers rather than idly burning fuel in the service area.
Winding up the revs, Hänninen gives the column-mounted gear shifter a hefty shove and the Fabia rumbles forward at walking pace towards the start of the makeshift rally stage. And then the fun starts.
Without warning Hänninen floors the throttle and the Fabia explodes into life. The once calm — by race car standards — cockpit ambience is shattered by an engine working its socks off, more transmission whine than an Austin A40 and the constant clatter of stones being kicked up into the car's wheel arches. Remember, like all rally cars at this level, all traces of the Fabia's soundproofing and surplus trim have been discarded in the name of saving weight. You hear every stone and feel every lump and bump on the road. Such is the speed of the Fabia on the gravel road that long straights are reduced to short intermissions between the corners. There is no speedometer; another casualty of the cuts as it's not essential, but by looking at the car's main digital display you can watch the engine's revs rise and fall. Hänninen regularly gets close to the car's 8,250rpm ceiling on the straights, which in layman's terms translates as A Very Big Speed Indeed. Judging by how fast the trees are flying past, it's easy to believe that you're regularly nudging three figures.
More impressive than the car's straight-line speed is its — and Hänninen's — ability to master the corners. In a flurry of gear changes, the Finn expertly sets the car up for the turn ahead. With the Fabia's chunky gravel tyres biting hard, direction changes are free of drama. Whether it's a long, sweeping bend or a tight and unforgiving hairpin, Hänninen's measured inputs and the car's agility contrive to get the job done.
All too soon the fun is momentarily over. With a tug of the handbrake, Hänninen spins the Fabia around at the end of the road for the return journey. He confides that he didn't realise how slippery the road was on the first run — now he tells me! Still, I didn't notice and am simply looking forward to the drive back. And yes, he was visibly quicker.
After just ten minutes in the Fabia you're acutely aware just how physical the sport is. Hänninen was constantly adjusting the car's steering angle and throttle — even on the straights — and the chunky manual gearshift is a world away from the electronic ‘flappy paddles' enjoyed by the Formula 1 boys. It's not uncommon for this manic pace to be maintained for 20-odd minutes at a stretch, a fact that only makes you respect the drivers and co-drivers even more.
With comprehensive coverage on Eurosport including live stages from each event, Skoda going into 2011 with both 2010 manufacturer and driver trophies in the cabinet and a roster of proven drivers, a packed entry list for the Monte Carlo season opener in January and British interest in Peugeot's Guy Wilks, it's hard not to be impressed by the speed at which the IRC has grown in a few short years. Hänninen's pretty speedy, too.
Oily bits
The rally Fabia's engine is the ultimate normally-aspirated motor, displacing 2.0-litres it produces 270bhp for 135bhp per litre. That's pretty handy, but such is its power curve that you've got nothing unless you keep it well over 6,000rpm. The six-speed sequential transmission has two mechanical differentials and a twin-disc clutch, while gravel brakes are 300mm and asphalts are 355mm
Specs & ratings
- Model: Fabia S2000
- Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder
- Transmission: Six-speed manual, AWD
- Max power: 270bhp @ 8,250rpm
- Max torque: 245Nm @ 7,250rpm
- Top speed: NA
- 0-100kph: NA
- Price: Expensive
- Plus: Exhilarating, quicker than the mind
- Minus: Saps a normal person's energy in minutes
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