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Rumors about Fabia WRC circulated amongst fans and in motoring press for so long that many began to doubt whether Skoda would ever phase Octavia out. When in January 2003 Skoda then confirmed that Fabia WRC would indeed come, they surprised everyone by rolling out first example only two months later.
Where Octavia was somewhat hastily constructed from Kit Car base, Fabia was designed from scratch and was in development for over a year before debut. Constrasts do not end there, however. Where Octavia was big and bulky, Fabia is small and compact. Octavia was exercise in budget rally car preparation, Fabia is more refined and high-tech product.
The only common component between the two cars is the two liter engine with five valves per cylinder. It is tilted backward full 25 degrees allowed by the rules and sits in much smaller engine bay. Engine itself is tuned by Lehmann in Liechtenstein. Gearbox comes from Xtrac and is transversely mounted.
The end result is smaller car with better set-up and development possibilities. A matter of opinion but it also is uglier than Octavia. Unfortunately, performance has not so far been at level expected and it remains to be seen if further development in 2004 will make car a real challenger.
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| Debut WRC event: | Deutschland 2003 |
| Best WRC result: | 6th by Jani Paasonen in Finland 2004 |
| Rallies contested: | 16 | (works entries) |
| WRC starts: | 37 | (works entries) |
| Outright wins: | 0 | |
| Podiums: | 0 | |
| DNF's: | 18 | (DNF's to starts ratio 48.6 %) |
| Points scored: | 9 | (manufacturer championship points) |
| Avg points per rally: | 0.6 | |
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| Group and class | World Rally Car |
| Engine |
| Location: | Front transverse |
| Turbo: | Yes |
| Cylinders: | 4 in line |
| Valves: | 20 |
| Bore x stroke: | 82.5 x 93.5 mm |
| Cubic capacity: | 2000 cc |
| Power: | 295 hp |
| Torque: | 600 Nm |
| Compression ratio: | 8.7:1 |
| Dimensions |
| Length: | 4002 mm |
| Width: | 1770 mm |
| Wheelbase: | 2462 mm |
| Weight: | 1230 kg |
| Transmission |
| Drive: | 4WD |
| Gearbox: | Transverse |
| Gears: | 6 |
| Sequential: | Yes |
| Clutch plates: | 3 |
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Didier Auriol, Australia 2003
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