Skoda has just introduced the fourth generation of Superb and Superb Combi estate to the Irish market. The Superb has been a huge success for Skoda since the brand dug the Superb badge out of the back of a cupboard (it was first used in 1934) and applied it to a roomy saloon based on a 2002 Volkswagen B5 Passat.
That wasn’t the most successful one, though, was it?
No, it wasn’t. While the Superb has gone from strength to strength since 2002, the outgoing third-generation version - known by Skoda fans as the B8 version - was the most successful yet, finding favour all over Europe with both private buyers and especially with government agencies, not least police forces all over the continent and in the UK.
To celebrate the success of the B8, Skoda has commissioned a one-off special known as the Superb Sleeper. No, it hasn’t been turned into an ersatz camper van (although heaven knows there’s enough room in the massive 660-litre boot for a bed). No, this car is a Sleeper in the sense that ‘Sleeper’ refers to a high-performance car that passes under the radar of all but the most dedicated car enthusiast.
Hang on, wasn’t there a hot version of the B8 Superb already?
Oh sure. The Skoda Superb’s most powerful model, in this third-generation version, used a 280hp 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine with four-wheel drive. It was a pretty swift car, but ‘swift’ wasn’t going to be enough for a special celebration.
So, Skoda got on to UK-based RE Performance, the engineering team behind the record-breaking Octavia that set a Land Speed Record of 227.080mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats in 2011. RE Performance took a Superb Laurin & Klement (that’s the luxury trim, named after the founders of the Skoda company) and set to work.
RE Performance fettled and tuned the standard 2.0-litre turbo engine until it produced more than 50 per cent extra power, with 477hp on tap and a massive 661Nm of torque. To control all of that grunt, the suspension has been lowered by 50mm, given a handling pack that includes race-bred coil-over suspension, along with a performance brake kit that comprises larger grooved discs and upgraded callipers.
This thing must look amazing!
Surprisingly… Normally, you’d expect any hyper-tuned performance car such as this to feature some kind of wild be-winged body kit, but that’s not how a Sleeper works. Instead, RE Performance kept the exterior of the car absolutely standard, and only added Royal Green paint and Cognac leather interior trim. Otherwise, it looks basically stock (aside from the red brake callipers peeping out from behind the alloy wheels).
Which seems like a good way to celebrate 1.6 million Superb sales. A car that’s capable of hugely surprising performance, but one which looks entirely normal on top. The Superb Sleeper won’t go on sale (boooo!) but will be part of Skoda’s heritage fleet.