The Skoda Enyaq Has Been Mashed Up With A Rally Car Again, Because Why Not

Last year, the very sensible Skoda Enyaq was turned into a very unsensible race-ready concept borrowing plenty of know-how from the company’s rallying exploits. We’re not entirely sure why this happened, but we’re very glad it did, because it looked excellent.

Now, that concept – the Enyaq RS Race – has returned for a second iteration, in line with the recent facelift the Enyaq range received recently. It once again uses the warmed-over Enyaq Coupe vRS – sold as the RS in mainland Europe – as its base, and there’s no mention of any changes to its dual-motor, 335bhp electric powertrain.

Everything else has been thoroughly overhauled, though. Much of the massively wider bodywork is made from a composite material using natural flax fibres, which as well as bringing the usual weight and rigidity advantages, is said to reduce manufacturing CO2 emissions by up to 85 per cent.

These new panels, in addition to throwing out any unnecessary interior bits and fitting polycarbonate windows, shave a total of 316kg off the weight of the production car, dropping it to 1946kg. Still not a flyweight, then, but it does help drop the 0-62mph time from 5.5 to 4.6 seconds.

Other hardware changes include swapping out the standard electronically adaptive suspension for manually adjustable sports dampers, and ditching the standard brakes (did you know the Enyaq uses drums on the rear?) for all-round carbon ceramic items.

The really fun stuff, though, comes when you discover that both axles have a limited-slip diff on them, GR Yaris-style, and the fun-sapping electronic handbrake has been swapped out for a huge hydraulic rally-style wand. This, combined with all that instant EV torque, means only one thing: many skids.

Other changes? The standard steering system has been replaced with a racing-style one with tweakable levels of power assistance, and there’s a beefed up sound generator to play an “exhilarating motorsport sound.” Hmmm. Oh, and it now has a proper rally-style livery. Rather hilariously, though, the Enyaq’s standard 13-inch infotainment screen remains in place.

Just like the original Enyaq RS Race concept, expect to be able to pop into your local Skoda dealer and buy one of these in approximately never. In fact, beyond some usual PR stuff about it supporting the development of sustainable manufacturing methods, we’re still not entirely sure why it exists. We’re definitely not complaining, though.