Skoda reveals first sketch of new Fabia

Skoda has released a sketch of the forthcoming Fabia hatchback, giving us a first glimpse at its new hatchback which is expected in the UK shortly after the turn of 2015.

Due to be revealed in full at the Paris Motor Show in September, this hyperbolic image confirms that the new Fabia will follow the design themes seen on the current Octavia and recently revised Yeti crossover.

The next Fabia will be the third generation of a car that’s proved a huge success for Skoda and a lynchpin in the brand’s line-up since its introduction in 1999. The model is famous not only for providing the basis for the niche-defining first-generation Fabia vRS diesel hot hatch, but for its tremendously popular advertising campaigns, most notably the second-generation’s Cake ad in 2007.

Hopefully there’ll be more of that sort of innovation for this third-generation model. We don’t know too much yet, with Skoda accompanying this image only with much design-speak that says plenty without saying anything at all. The new Fabia “fuses crystalline shapes and sharp lines with precision,” we’re told.

However, we do learn that it will be wider and lower than today’s Fabia, by 9cm and 3cm respectively, and that lots of what we saw on the Vision C concept car at this year’s Geneva show will also be seen on the production Fabia, no doubt suitably watered down.

Fabia the third will be based on Volkswagen’s flexible MQB platform, on which the Octavia, Golf, A3 and Leon currently sit, and which will also underpin the next Yeti and SEAT SUV. This means it will be compatible with the very latest Volkswagen Group Euro 6 petrol and diesel engines, thought it’ll be limited to the smaller ones: 1.2- and 1.4-litre petrols, and a 1.4-litre TDI.

Combined with Skoda’s Greenline-branded eco technology, which includes start/stop and brake energy recovery, there’s a chance that every Fabia will dip below 100 g/km. To help achieve stupendously low emissions across the range, Skoda will aim to keep every Fabia’s scale weight below a metric tonne.

It remains to be seen whether Skoda will revive the vRS brand for a third generation – and whether it will be petrol  or diesel powered – but rumour has it that the Czech brand is considering shelving it. Time will tell, though the existence of the SEAT Ibiza Cupra, Polo GTI and, to a lesser extent, Audi S1 mean it’s unlikely Skoda will settle for life without a hot little hatchback bargain on its books.

There is no word on prices, but the new Fabia range is expected to start at around £10,000 when it goes on sale at the beginning of next year.